policies. voters are being asked by both candidates to take a leap of faith. given what we know about the previous four years, we decided it was an easier bet to go with the president for four more. host: how many timesguest: presn here six times this year. mitt romney has been here 6. joe biden has been here once. we have seen a lot of, many visits from michelle obama. jill biden then work with the reds in colorado springs. we have seen plenty of action this cycle. >> bill clinton could be coming to your state. an official says bill clinton is scheduled to campaign for the president today. in colorado. the president was supposed to be

in colorado springs tuesday but cancelled due to the storm. guest: and we expect we will see, pending the outcome of the storm on the east coast, both candidates later in the week. governor mitt romney was here last week in the rally at but rocks that drew 9000 people. thousands were turned away. the following day, president obama held a rally in denver and drew crowds of up to 16,000. the governor this because deserve an amphitheater that has the capacity of 18,000. the president and his campaign were looking to go to boulder to hold a rally. they are try to turn out a lot of voters for the optics. >> these are great stories about real people in american history. very important moment in american history we do not know about three the first programs came to -- 50 years before the

mayflower. they were friends. they made a wide theory they had the good sense to lead in florida in june instead of massachusetts. then there were wiped out by the spanish. we left the story out of the textbooks. the most famous woman in america was taking captive by indians in 1695. in the middle of the night, she killed her captors. realizing she could get a bounty for indian scalps, she went back and made her way to boston where she was a heroine. she directed -- is that she was elected to her. -- erected to her. >> kenneth davis is our guest sunday, taking your calls and e- mails on and death. he is the best-selling author of the "don't know much" series. watch live at noon eastern on c- span2. >> mitt romney campaign in

jacksonville, florida tonight with jeb bush and connie mack. they held two other rallies early in the day. one in tampa and another in coral gables. this is 40 minutes. >> good evening, jacksonville. how are you? ready to take back the white house? i thought you might be. how did you enjoy five for fighting? he's a really good guy. did you enjoy his song "freedom never cries"? this is an important election. this an election about what the future of america is going to be. is our future going to be more debt and more regulation and more taxes?

or is our future going to be in less taxes, less regulations and more freedom? i believe in mitt romney. he's the right candidate at the right time to be the president of the united states. [applause] you know in the state of florida we have 820,000 people out of work, people who will looking for work, people who have given up looking for work. we need someone who understands how jobs are created. that individuals create jobs not government that creates jobs. [applause]

when mitt romney is president he is going to need another united states senator, republican senator from florida. [applause] how many here have already voted? [applause] and for those of you who wake up tomorrow morning and go vote. after you vote for mitt romney go down the ballot a little more and vote for connie mack. can you do that? there are dig differences between senator nelson and myself. he was the deciding vote for obamacare. i voted against obamacare. [applause] senator nelson has voted for higher taxes 272 times. i voted to cut taxes. [applause] senator nelson voted to gut our military.

i voted to strengthen our 34il8 tear. military [applause] a couple of things happen when i beat senator nelson. the second thing that happens is harry reid will no longer control the agenda. [applause] so florida, we're counting on you, we're counting on you to get out there and vote for mitt romney. i'm counting on you to go out and vote for me.

together we'll make sure that mitt romney is the next president, that i'm the next senator, we'll get this country moving again. we'll go in the right direction. we'll put people first over government any day of the week, right? [applause] i have the honor tonight to introduce someone to you that you know very well. someone who has been a great leader for the state of florida as governor of the state of florida. [applause] and he continues to be a great leader for america. ladies and gentlemen, jeb bush [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you so much.

connie mack is going to be a great united states senator just like his dad was. work hard for him the next six days. i know in jacksonville you have the curvature effect which means hurricanes never come here. but you love this state and you're from florida and you recall how we suffered through eight hurricanes and four tropical storms. and we came together and depended on the american red cross and churches all around the country and world, people came to florida in our time of 23450ed. -- time of need. we had over a million homes that were completely destroyed. we had people that were one paycheck away from having a problem before the storms and then got into serious problems. and guess what?

the american spirit was alive and well. people helped take care of their families and friends and came from all over and provided support. now it's our turn to show the generosity of the american spirit. it's time to pay back those who live in new york and new jersey and connecticut and all across the northeast. and by the way, the next time you see a first responder that we take for granted, a firearm, a police officer, someone who has been working in emergency response in one of the counties around here. give them a big hug and say thank you because without them we'd be in much worse shape. so now on to the main event. i am so excited to be here in support of mitt romney. who will be a person of great integrity, great courage.

a conservative that will get things done instead of the yapping that goes on in washington d.c. right now. [applause] our country has huge problems, structural problems that require people that actually want to solve problems rather than just talk about it or excuse the way why it is that things are working. you know, president obama was dealt a tough hand. we hear this everyday if you watch tv. and of course it's my brother's fault for everything that goes on. it's almost as though the dog ate my homework is the reason we're going through tough times. but let me tell you mitt romney from day one, job one will be to restore the american economy so people can purr shoe their dreams as they see fit by limited government and build capacity so people don't have to get in line and be dependent upon government.

no one wants to do that. we want a society where the next generation has more opportunities than what we have. and the american dream is what this election is about. are we going to reverse the track we're on which is a false sense of economic security where we get in line and have the government solve our problems for us? as if that's ever worked in american history. or are we going to restore american greatness the way we know it works best to create jobs in a strategic way with a guy as president that will work to build solutions rather than just talking about things? i was governor of this state for eight years and i had to work with a lot of democrats but i had to work with a lot of republicans as well because they were in the majority the whole time.

imagine what it would be like to be a governor of a state where 85% of the legislature was in a different party. it would require leadership that had humility at the start that would focus on ways to solve problems. that's what we need in our country right now. a guy who has been about finding common ground and solutions, not abandoning principle. imagine a country that began to solve it's problems. we need a president who is willing to roll up his sleeves to begin to solve these problems and american greatness will surge immediately. here is the deal. just about everybody raced their hand saying they've already voted. but i bet you know ten people who haven't.

find four in your case, everybody else find ten people that haven't voted and convince them to make sure they vote early or vote on election day. and if you get them really jazzed up convince them to find ten people. if you do that we will have florida in the winning column for mitt romney and mitt romney will be the next president of the united states. [applause] so with that i hope you give our next speaker a spectacular welcome, ladies and gentlemen the next president of the united states mitt romney. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. thank you. you know with help like that -- [applause]

you know with energy like that, i think we're going to win florida, don't you? [applause] now i want to thank governor jeb bush. what a great leader you have in governor bush. i want to thank congressman connie mack for getting into this race and he's going to surprise a lot of people and win next tuesday night. thank you john for entertaining and supporting and for helping so many people come together to make contributions to the red cross. i know senator john thrasher is here somewhere. he's somewhere. and congressman crenshaw is here.

thank you -- there they are down in the corner. thank you. they are good men and appreciate their help tonight. [applause] we're excited tonight because we know that we're getting closer to a big change in this country, a real change. [applause] we also have full hearts because we know our fellow americans are struggling through some real tough times with the hurricane that hit the atlantic coast and i want to underscore if you have the ability to help out, please provide some resources there and give calls to your loved ones and keep them in your thoughts and prayers. we help each other as americans and that help is needed now. so thank you florida for your help.

[applause] now i think people are coming together in another way right now and that is people recognize this is an extraordinary opportunity for america that we face great challenges but there are great opportunities as well. and i think you are going to find the american people voting for real change on november 6. [applause] and you know we talk about the challenges but i hope you understand just how real they are because there are 23 million americans tonight, 23 million americans that are struggling to find a good job.

there are one out of six americans living in poverty, 47 million americans are on food stamps. we have 50% of college garage watts, think of this in america 50% of kids coming out of college can't find college level work. these are real challenges here. we face challenges from china. i have to tell you good things are going to happen in america. i understand what it takes to get this country going again. [applause] you see i actually have a plan for getting america back and to strengthen our foundation and my plan creates some 12 mm jobs and that by the way creates more take home pay which people badly need. you know what it's been like. i just had a telephone call with a lot of people in nevada. we were talking about challenges there and their home values are down and people are having a hard time making ends meet.

the median income in america has dropped over $4,000 in the last four years. they are earning less than four years ago. the same time cost of gasoline has gone up $2,000 a family, health insurance premiums are up, groceries are up. these are tough times for america. so my plan to create 12 million jobs is needed and needed now. it has five parts which number one we're going to take full advantage of our energy, our oil, our coal, our gas. [applause]

and that creates a lot of jobs. not just in the energy sector but in places that use energy, manufacturing for instance uses a lot of energy in many cases and by having low cost energy and we have it and will continue to have it if we take advantage of these resources. you're going to see manufacturing come back to this country. this is big for our country. that's number one. number two, it's a very helpful thing if a nation has the most productivity in the world and we do. i used to here the word productivity. they look at everything a country makes, all the services they sell add it up and divide it by the number of people in the work force. that's out put per person. and we are the most productive major nation in the world. and because we're so productive, tread helps us. as we open up doors for tread we can sell goods and services to

other places in the world. and i want to open up trade with latin america where we have a real advantage. i want to make sure people we trade with follow the rules. china hasn't always fold the rules. i'll stop them if they participate in unfair trade practices. so number one energy, and number two trade. number three is making sure the people have the skills they need and that our schools are giving our kids the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow. now your governor here knows something about that. he's the national leader in education and he did some things i've copied in my plan for the nation. number one he makes sure schools are evaluated so you know how well a school is doing. they get graded. he makes sure the parents are able to send a child to a school

of their choice. federalg to take dollars and instead of giving them to the schools i'm going to have them follow the student so parents can choose the school. number four doesn't sound to a lot of people like it has a lot to do with jobs but it does. it relates to debt and deficits which and that is if you're an entrepreneur thinking of risking your live ever life savings to start a business or build a factory, if you think america is on the road to greece or italy or spain, you're less likely to invest in america. and right now we spend a trillion more than we take in. it's bad for the economy. i think it's immoral for us to pass on debt like that to our kids and i will get america on track to a balanced budget.

[applause] and number five, is to be a champion of small business, help small business grow and thrive. by the way, i didn't study small business alone. i've lived small business. i know how business works and i want to use that experience and that skill to help small businesses across the country. and there are a lot of ways to do that. let me mention just a couple. one relates to our taxes. do you realize that the taxes paid by a small business in america can be as high as 35%, that's the income tax and then if you add other taxes t payroll tax, the state income tax if you have one, real estate tax, sales tax, well you can find small businesses spending as much as

50% of what they earn on government, on taxes. and as a result of that you have a lot of people saying why would i start a business if i'm lucky enough to have it successful the government is going to take half of what i make back. canada has lowered their corporate tax rate to 15%. ours is 35. they've lowered to 15, why? not because they want less money. they know if businesses grow and thrive there they will get more money. so that's how it works. so i want to bring our tax rates down to help small businesses and make it easier for people to start them. i want to make sure we understand how to make regulations work for small business.

by the way some people in our party say we want to deregulate. that's an overstatement. we want to get rid of excessive regulation. we know you have to have some to make our economy work. but sometimes regulators look at businesses like they're the enemy. and i have small businesses tell me i feel like government is battling me. i like small business. i want to make sure we help them grow and make it easier for them to expand. [applause] by the way, to create those 12 million jobs and get us on track to a balanced budget, those are words i offer easily, that's going to take some real work. to get that done, it's going to require something in washington that's spoken about but not done and i have to do it.

i have to reach across the aisle and get good democrats and good republicans to work together. [applause] good democrats love america just like good republicans love america. i happen to be in a state that has a few democrats, massachusetts. i legislature was about 85% democrat. and to get anything done at all and have my veto upheld i had to have people across the aisle i could work with. when i came in office we had a multibillion budget gap, we actually sat down every week, got to know each other. every week we net one of our offices and talked about the challenges we faced and looked for common ground. we often count come together but often we found common ground. we found a way to slow down the rate of growth in our state and cut spending in our state.

we cut taxes 19 times and made our state more business friendly and by the end of four years instead of a $3 billion budget gap we had a $2 billion fund. it's got to happen. i want you to know that i'm optimistic. i'm convinced that the future is brighter than the past. i don't believe our kids are going to have tougher times than we did. i believe they're going to have brighter times. i believe kids coming out of college are going to find work again. i believe someone in their 40's or fifties ought to have a chance to put money away.

our seniors ought to be confident their retirement is secure and healthcare is secure. these things will happen again. and i'm convinced of that because i've seen the heart of the american people over my lifetime. we're innovative and optimistic and hardworking. i also see a willingness to live for something bigger than ourself. i was a leader in the boy scouts of america some years ago. and i was at a court of honor, that's where the boy scouts get their eagle scout awards or other awards and there was a table at the front of the room and i was seated at the end of the table next to the american flag. and the person that was speaking was the scout master from colorado. and he said the boys wanted to have a special flag. so they bought one.

they sent it to be flown above the capital. then when it came home the boys said let's have it go on the space shuttle. that will make it more special. they contacted nasa and nasa agreed. they said the boys were so proud as they watched the challenger go up in the sky and they saw it explode before their eyes. the scout master called nasa and said have you found any remnant of our flag and they hadn't. he called week after week and move after month and still nothing. and one day he was reading an article in the paper about some of the debris that had been found from the challenger disaster. and in that article there was a mention of a flag. so he called nasa and said have you found something you can give to us. and they said we'd like to make a presentation to your boys. so nasa came together with colorado and presented the boys with a plastic container and they opened it up and there was their flag in perfect condition. [applause]

and he said that's the flag on the flag pole here next to mr. romney. and i reached over and grabbed the flag and pulled it out and the was as if electricity was running through my arm because i thought about the people who lost their lives and they walked in danger's way for learning, for something bigger than themselves, for us. romney. and i reached over and grabbed the was as if electricity was lost their lives and they walked for something bigger than themselves, for us. i think of our men and women in uniform and their willing tons walk in harm's way for us, for freedom. [applause] i have a favorite verse in one

of our hymnsms, america the beautiful. in that hem him we talk about the mountains majesty and all the characters of our land but there is a verse that touches me more deeply that says heroes proved in liberating strife who more than self-their country love and mercy more than life. what our veterans and members of the armed forces raise your hand so we can recognize you? [applause] thank you. it is part of the american national character to live for things bigger than yourself. some do that in extraordinary ways, invisible ways, other do it in meaningful ways in their

lives and family's life. my sister is a hero to me. my sister lynn has eight children, seven of them are married with children of their own t. 8th child was born down syndrome. lynn is in her 70's and jeff i have down syndrome man now is 43 years old. and lynn has devoted her life since her husband has been passed away and before to caring for jeffrey. she's a hero to me as are so many moms and dads who devote themselves to their kids. [applause] i think of all the single moms across the country in tough

economic times like right there who are scrimping and saving in many cases to be able to put a good meal on the table at the end of the day for their children. think of the moms and dads who are working one night shift and one day shift and hardly get any time together but are doing it to be able to buy the kids the clothes the other kids have at school so they don't stand out. how about all the moms and dads who agreed not to exchange gifts with each other because they want to have a better christmas for their kids. we're a generous people. this is a time when the people of america are going to come together. i'm convinced november 7 will be a time we have leadership that will bring us together once again. [applause]

i saw a tv show some years ago with a fictional football team in the show it's called friday night lights. you may have seen it. and in the show the football team would leave the locker room typically facing long odds from a team ranked higher than they. and they'd leave the locker room and there was assign that said clear eyes, fall hearts can't lose. i'm confident the people of florida have very clear eyes. you understand what is at stake in this election. i know you have full hearts and on november 6 we can't lose. we're going to get america back. this is our time, this is your time. let's take back america and keep it the hope of the earth. thank you so very much. you guys are great.

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>> we will have "road to the white house coverage of to romney campaign events tomorrow. his wife will be in a rally in columbus ohio, live beginning and noon eastern. you can watch both events live here on c-span and at our website, c-span.org. new jersey suffered some worst damage from hurricane sandy. today, president obama visited the state with governor chris christie and spoke about the federal government's response to the disaster. this is 15 minutes.

>> i promise, you are going to be ok. we are going to get this whole thing set up. this is the owner of the marines arrive here. i want to make sure that she knows -- the owner of a marina

right here. how long have you had the marina? since 1996? nothing like this has ever happened. well, we will get it done, i promise. we are going to see what we can do. we will try to work through, obviously folks' homes, making sure the power is back on, making sure the streets are clear and all the debris is gone. we want to make sure the small businesses are up and running. is the head of emergency management.

he knows what to do. [indiscernible] the other thing is, i know there is a lot of aqua culture here. we will work with the governor's team and work to get everything back and deal with some of the other challenges we have got. [indiscernible] this is something that we know we can recover.

>> governor, thank you. >> good afternoon, everybody. i want to thank the members that are here. i want to thank the president. we spent a significant afternoon together, surveying the damage up and down the coast line. we wanted to show the president that personally. we have the opportunity to discuss it. and over to the shelter and

meet with folks and have them see the president and his concern all of us have for making sure that things get back to normal as quickly as possible. we have a lot of challenges. things we need to do to make sure we get power restored as quickly as possible, that people have clean water, hospitals are taking care of things they need to when we get kids back to school. i discussed all those issues with the president and i am pleased to report he has sprung into action immediately to give us those things while we were in a car together. i want to thank him for that. he has worked with me since before the storm. this is our sixth conversation since the weekend. it has been a great working relationship to make sure we are doing the job people asked us to do. i cannot think him enough for

his personal concern and compassion for our state and the people of our state. i was able to witness it personally. we are doing what we need to do coordinating with fema. i want to thank mr. fugate. we will move on from here. what i said yesterday i really mean. there is going to be sorrow, and you see that. the president has seen that today. that is appropriate. we have suffered from loss. we have not suffered that much a loss of life and we thank god for that. we have suffered losses. this is the worst storm i have seen in my lifetime in the state but we cannot permit that sorrow to replace the resilience we have. we will get up and we will get this thing rebuilt and we'll get things back together because that is what the state

is all about. for all of you who are here, and i met a bunch of you today who disregarded my admonition, at to get the hell out of here, you are forgiven this time. but not for much longer. when all of you look around and you see the destruction, all that stuff can be replaced. you look to your right and left, to your husband, your wife, those are the things that cannot be replaced. i am glad we do not have that kind of loss of life. thank you for being here today. it is my honor to introduce you to the president of the united states. >> thank you, everybody. let me make sure i acknowledge the folks who are here because they have played an important role in this. first of all, your congressional delegation, senator bob menendez, congressman frank, atlantic county executive

dennis levenson, and the brigantine mayor. obviously this is a federal, state, and local efforts. the first thing i want to do is thank everybody who has been involved in the rescue and recovery process. at the top of my list, i have to say governor christie, throughout the process, has been responsive, he has been aggressive in making sure the state got out in front of this incredible storm and i think the people of new jersey recognize he has put his heart and soul in making sure the people of new jersey bounce back even stronger than before. i want to thank him for his leadership and partnership. i want to thank the congressional delegation because part of the reason we are able to respond quickly is because

they help make sure fema financing was in place. we are appreciative of those efforts. i want to thank craig fugate. he lives and breathes a this stuff. i want to -- making sure they have the help they so desperately need. i want to thank the first responders to have been involved. the firefighters, the folks to work in here getting people who were supposed to get the hell out and did not. you have helped save a lot of lives. when you learn, the first responders, keep in mind, their homes are usually under water, too. or their family has been affected in some way.

they make personal sacrifices. we really appreciate them. a couple of comments. number 1. the most important. our hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones. it is true that because of some good preparation the loss of life was capped lower than it might have been. for those individual families, obviously their world has been torn apart. we need to make sure that everybody who was lost a loved one knows they are in our thoughts and prayers. i speak for the whole country. for those like the people i this had the chance to meet on this block and throughout new jersey and the region whose lives have been up and did -- upended, our message is that we have -- are here for you. we will follow up to make sure you get all the help you need until you rebuild. at this point, our main focus is

on the s -- state of new jersey, which got hit harder than anybody, the state of new york, particularly lower manhattan and long island. we are very concerned about some situations in connecticut as well. we are still monitoring west virginia, where there are heavy snows in some inaccessible areas. for the most part, those four states are really getting the brunt of this entire storm. what we have been able to do is position and stage commodities, water, power generators, ambulances in some cases, food, medical supplies, emergency supplies, and we have over 2000 fema personnel on the ground right now. their job, now that we are moving out of the search and

rescue phase, is to make sure they are going out and talking to individual communities so that people know exactly how they can get the help they need. we expedited the hour emergency declarations for the state of new jersey and local counties that have been affected. that means that people can immediately start registering for emergency assistance. one of the things i want to emphasize to people of new jersey and throughout the region. now that you are safe, your family is safe, you are trying to figure out where you will stay for the next couple days, et cetera -- is very important that you know there is help available to you right now for example to find rental housing or pay for groceries. at the community center beside young woman who had a newborn, probably and 8 months old who still need diapers and formula and had run out. does the kinds of basic supplies

and help the can provide. if you call 800-621-fema, or disasterassistance.gov if you have got access to the internet, what that allows you to do is to register right now so you can immediately start receiving help. we want to make sure you get everything you need. a couple final points -- obviously, our biggest priority is getting power turned on. we are pleased that newark power yesterday. jersey city is getting power today. by thursday, there are still big chunks of the community that still not have power. it is hard enough cleaning up debris and dealing with boats that have been upended and roads that are blocked. when people do not have power they are disabled and all sorts

of ways and it is hard to get back to normal. yesterday i had a chance to thek to the ceo's of utility's all across the country. a lot of the states that were scared, were not hard hit or some states as far away as california, they have pledged to get the equipment and cruise here into new jersey and new york and connecticut as quickly as possible. one of the things we have been able to do, to give you a sense of how this is an all hands on deck approach, we are able to and c-130's, military transport planes, to move assets and personnel to speed up the process of getting power as soon as possible. our first party is water filtration plants and other

critical infrastructure in the state. for that, we have to move some generators, and we have a ship that can help to move assets around the state as well. we are going to be working with governor christie's office and local officials to identify what are those critical infrastructures, how we can get what is needed as quickly as possible. a couple other things we are concerned about. as power starts coming back on, we want to make sure people can get to work. there are a lot of folks in jersey who work in new york, in the city, and other places where transportation may be hobbled. one thing i mentioned is the possibility of us using federal assets, military assets, as well as taking inventory of assets from around the country that could be broadened so we can help people get to their work. governor christie also mentioned the importance of schools.

the sooner we can get our kids back into school, the sooner they are back into a routine. that obviously helps the families and the kids as well. we will have a lot to do. i do not any -- want anybody to feel that somehow this will of the clean up overnight, we want to make sure people have realistic expectations. but what i can promise you is that the federal government will be working as closely as possible with the state and local officials. we will not quit until this is done. the directive i have given, and i said this yesterday, but i will repeat. i think crag and others working with me know i mean it. we will not tolerate red tape. we will not tolerate bureaucracy. i instituted a 15 minute rule on my team. the return everybody's frankos in 15 minutes, whether it is the mayor, the governor, county officials. if you need something the you -- we figure out a way to say yes.

gathering around, i had the chance to talk to some of the young people here who have been volunteering up and down the block picking up debris. when we were over at the community center, there was a restaurant owner who for the last 18 hours was cooking meals just as his contribution to the recovery process. some of the folks for st. the food was better than they got at home. -- were saying to the food was better than they got at home. you had a young man whose mother was disabled and he was making sure that she was ok, taking on extraordinary responsibilities for himself but also for his mom. when nyse folks like that respond -- when you see folks like that respond with strength and resilience, see people respond with strength and resilience, you are reminded what america is all about.

we go through tough times but bounced back. we bounced back because we look out for one another and do not leave anybody behind. my commitment to people on this block, people in this community, people of this state, is that that spirit will carry over all the way into our work is done. thank you very much, everybody. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> president obama returns to campaigning tomorrow with an appearance at the university of colorado boulder. you can watch it live beginning at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span and that c-span.org.

>> vice president biden made two campaign stops in florida. that he called "an outrageous lie." the latest polling average -- mitt romney holds a 1% lead in florida. this is 50 minutes. >> hello. thank you so much. as my mother would say, god love you. [applause] my name is joe biden. i am married to jill biden. she is a teacher.

it is such an honor to be here. thank you so much for being here. where is councilman rich? good to see you. also, rod smith, chairman of the democratic party in florida. [applause] the amazing grace nelson. i have never met any woman who cares more and fights more in protecting the state of florida than grace nelson. great to be with you. [applause] this morning i was on call for several days ever since sandy hit the northeast. look, i now that for a northeastern boy to talk about hurricanes to floridians is like bringing coal to newcastle, but you know what those folks are going through.

every morning, the president and i have a call with all the administration officials, from fema to homeland security to the department of defense. we talk with all the governors in the affected states as well as an awful lot of the mayors. i can tell you confidently that the federal government, state government, local government, they are doing everything in their power to coordinate relief as rapidly as we can so many people who have been devastated by this storm. [applause] as tragic as it is, my mom, god rest her soul, she said, joe, out of something bad, something good will come if you look hard enough. my state of delaware was hit. it is a low-lying state.

the hurricane went on shore about 30 miles from rehoboth to, in new jersey. my state, where my in-laws used to live, where my brothers and sisters live, they were hit pretty badly. i have a sister in law and family who live in ocean city, new jersey. you saw how badly they were hit. it is kind of amazing -- it is kind of amazing. a call yesterday with all the governors and mayors, it warmed my heart. you had the governor of delaware, the governor of connecticut, the governor of pennsylvania, democrats and republicans, and they were hurt. the governor of maryland. all saying to new jersey and new york -- look, if you need extra resources, we will send you ours. we will send you hours. listen on the telephone,

hearing the mayor of the big city, not only mayor bloomberg, who is one hell of a fine guy, mayor bloomberg of new york. mayor booker of newark, hoboken -- hear these guys talking, they are all offering each other help. offering each other help. democrats and republicans, acting like democrats and republicans are supposed to act. [applause] ladies and gentlemen. we are always, i know this sounds almost trite but it is necessary to say in these times -- we are always better off as a nation when we pull together. always. my hope is that when this election is over, that is what we have to do again, pulled together as a nation. democrats and republicans. we have too many gigantic opportunities to continue the kind of bickering that has gone

on between the parties the last four years. the american people, the american people have an opportunity to make a fundamental choice in the direction they want to see this country go. quite frankly, our vision and their vision for america are totally different, and our values set is different -- they are decent people, this have a very different view of the american people and the prospect of this country. as he saw in the debates, you saw in the debates, i began to wonder in that last debate between governor romney and the president -- i did not know whether romney was there to endorse president obama or to debate president obama. [applause] we roman catholics call that an epiphany. [laughter] the man had an epiphany right before my very eyes. the governor has been saying for

a long time what a tragic mistake it was for us to end the war in iraq and not leave 30,000 warriors in iraq. all of a sudden, it sound like he was against the iraq war from the beginning. i thought he may have voted the same way barack did. he went from labeling russia, which he recently called the soviet union, labeling russia are most significant geopolitical foe -- let me tell you something, he also was opposed to the new start treaty which every single solitary former republican secretary of state, republican national security adviser, republican secretary of defense was for. he was against it. he said he would have never supported it. all of a sudden -- i tell you. it is amazing. we can work with russia, we can be very close with russia.

[laughter] he went from harshly criticizing us to saying we will and we will turn over for responsibility to the afghan military at the end of 2014. [applause] he went from saying we should never have set a timetable, he would not do that. i had a debate, too, with ryan. [applause] in my day, he was talking about more troops in the east, more americans would be there -- we should not have set a date. then along comes romney -- my generation has gone on the wings of a snow white dove, preaching -- preaching love. i tell you what, it was just amazing.

when asked, as i asked ryan, congressman ryan, when asked, would he leave, guaranteed leave by 2014. in case you have not noticed, everything on romney-ryan depends. it depends on the hour, the audience, depends on where they are. who they are talking to. it depends on how they feel. it just depends. it depends. i cannot depend on a president for whom everything depends. my grandfather's name was ambrose finnegan, he used to say -- joey, beware of the converted. qhoa, these guys, a real

epiphany. on issues related to women -- [applause] by the way, joyce, i cannot tell you how impressed i am with joyce. this is a woman who feels it in her bones. this is a woman who understands it. on the issue of women, the issue of women, they could not bring themselves, they could not bring themselves to move out of the 1950's. i am being earnest here. i am being deadly earnest. think about it. all of these congressional candidates, the outrageous things the republican congressional candidates are saying. there is a senate candidate in indiana, mourdock -- here's the point. sometimes silence can be

deafening. their refusal to condemn what mourdock says says more about them than it says about mourdock. and when governor romney was asked a question that joyce referenced, do you think women should get paid the same for the same work as men, what did romney talk about? he started talking about binders. binders. he found a binder full of qualified women. holy moly. i mean, it is amazing. i hope he kept that binder. [laughter] you know what, folks, he never did answer the question whether or not women were entitled the same pay for the same work.

then again, it should not surprise you. this is the guy who spokesperson said he was against the lilly ledbetter act. ryan voted against the lilly ledbetter act. one thing he did say -- he wanted to repeal the law bill nelson help us pass that says that no longer can insurance companies charge women as they do now, 50% more for the same health insurance. [applause] he did say he wanted to repeal the law. younger women will think i'm making this up -- ask any woman who was had to try to get insurance on her own. he did say he wanted to repeal -- the law that insurance can no longer label pregnancy a pre-existing condition. people think i'm making that up. any of you women when you are pregnant trying to get

insurance, you found out that was a pre-existing condition. he did say he wanted to repeal that law. ladies and gentlemen, i ask you, and i mean this sincerely, the most important decision the president makes beyond deciding whether or not to go to war or not is who he or she appoints to the supreme court. the supreme court appointments outlast any presidential term. close your eyes and just imagine -- all the women's rights you have fought for for the last 40 years are more, i imagine what kind of shape it will be in under a romney- appointed supreme court. [boos] not a joke. it may be is the most important, least spoken issue in this election, what a new supreme court would look like if it were a romney-appointed court.

when it comes to women's rights, i want to be absolutely clear, and i say this in every part of the country. barack and i believe in our core that my daughter and his daughters and my four granddaughters deserve every single opportunity my sons have and my grandson's have. every single opportunity. no exceptions. [applause] i pointed out -- this is more than a women's issue. this is an economic issue. this is an economic issue. ladies and gentlemen, in the final week of this campaign, not only been in a day abandoning their position on foreign policy, trying to wiggle out of their position on women. now they are running away from the very fundamental tenet upon which this new republican tea party is based. what do they say? i mean this sincerely. it is based on two things --

one, the tax structure continuing to give massive tax cuts to the very wealthy. the five dar trillion tax plan that governor romney ran on a right here in the primaries in florida, with all those republicans, that $5 trillion plan, $1.6 trillion of which goes to making a minimum of $1 million. all this sudden it is gone. as my fourth granddaughter with said, did caspar the friendly ghost steal it? where did it go? it was a center element of the organizing principle, but because outside groups pointed out that the plan would raise middle-class taxes by $2,000 a year, all of a sudden it has vanished. all of a sudden, romney says, do not worry, it will not cost

anything. we will eliminate the polls for the wealthy. ladies and gentlemen, for people making over $1 million a year, there is only $54 billion of loopholes. the reason your taxes go up is because they will come out of those things that are the backbone of the middle-class. ladies and gentlemen, there is one, when asked, when i asked ryan in my debate, namely one loophole you will close -- 1. he did not name it. remember? remember, he was on fox news, the friendliest network in the world to republicans. chris wallace interviewed him before the debate and said, about the $5 trillion tax cut -- they said we do not have a $5 trillion tax cut. even wallace was stunned.

he said explained. he said "the math is too complicated. i do not have enough time." folks, the only tax break that they said they will not fool around with is the very tax break that allows romney to pay only 14% on $2 million a year. that is the only one. remember, i am not making this up -- they asked him, governor, you only pay 14% on $20 million. somebody making $50,000 pays a higher percent. is that fair? the governor said, that is fair. no wonder he wants to keep that loophole. as the president said after a

second debate with governor romney, he said the governor's plans are a little sketchy. i do not like to correct the president in public, but i will today. his plans are not sketchy. they are etch-a-sketchy. they told us this was coming and we got it. the only place they are sticking to their guns is on maintaining the tax cuts due to expire for the top 1%. that tax cap cost $1 trillion. of that trillion dollars, $800 billion goes to people making a minimum of $1 million. $500 billion goes to 120,000 families in america.

their average income is $8 million a year. i come from one of the wealthiest states in america. the first second highest per capita income. i represented it for six terms. i learned one thing -- wealthy people are just as patriotic as poor people, but they do not need that tax cut. [applause] the other central premise they are running away from now because it has been exposed as the budget policy. the ryan budget, the reason -- remember why ryan was picked. i'm being serious. he is a bright guy. he was the intellectual leader of the new way to deal with the budget. romney said he picked him for his budget ideas. his budget already passed the united states house. blocked by the senate and bill

nelson. it already passed. when it passed, let me tell you how "the new york times" characterized it. they said "this is the most extreme budget plan passed by a house of congress in modern times." even newt gingrich said it is right wing social engineering. no wonder they are running away from it now. look what it does to medicare. as joyce said, it is shameless what they're saying. they say that we are hurting medicare. anybody know anybody on medicare? you are better off now than you were before we came and. no copay for your annual visits. they would wipe all that out. the real secret, the real thing

they are not talking about. as they did not talk about at the convention or now. the essential element of the budget. they literally eliminate medicare as a guarantee program. here is the deal. you should all be aware of this. under their plan, anyone reaching the age of 65 when they become eligible for their new medicare plan, anyone is automatically off of medicare. nobody is on it automatically. you can buy back into it with a budget will give you -- but it is designed not to keep pace with the cost of health care. that is why every outside group

that has looked at this sad it would cost the nearest tens of thousands of dollars more. if you are 55 and go on it -- $60,000 more for your medicare. if you are 45 years old, but the time you qualify, $120,000 more. this is a sham. the truth of the matter is that the romney ryan budget not only decimates medicare, it knocks 19 million people off medicaid takes $500 million a year out of education. it eliminates all that which keeps people in college, of this race pell grants, et cetera. for them, education is an afterthought. for us, it is the foundation upon which the middle-class was built and is the key to u.s. success in the 21st century.

[applause] by the way, you have to ask yourself, why are they doing this? why would they do it in the first place? why are they still stuck on it? there is a simple reason -- they are not bad guys. they actually believe that the way to grow this country is from the top down. they actually believe another $2 trillion of tax cuts for people making over $1 million a year will somehow stimulate the economy. ladies and gentlemen, we have seen that movie before and we know how it ends. on halloween -- it is a horror movie, how it ends. [applause] 9 million people losing their jobs. tens of thousands of floridians

seeing the equity in their home evaporate. it ended in the great recession of 2008. the american people will not go back. [applause] there is an expression and my family, and every family has a version. my mom used to say, the measure of character is not what you do when people see you and are looking, it is what you are doing when nobody is looking. [applause] you saw what mitt romney believed when he thought nobody was looking. [applause] he said what he believed. he thinks half the american people, to quote him, are unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives. where is he from?

not where i raised in scranton or delaware. not here. not where we come from. the vast majority have jobs, they go out and pay their taxes. they pay property taxes, their state taxes. they pay an effective rate higher than romney pays. ladies and gentlemen, they are made up of seniors, people who have worked their whole lives, paid into social security, and now they are not paying taxes on it and they should not be paying tax on it. [applause] they are made up of the 68,000 warriors wandering through the got awful hills of afghanistan. they're getting paid but not

paying any income tax. ladies and gentlemen, the american people, this disappoints me most. this is the first time in my lifetime i can remember to candidates for the two highest offices in the land to have such a low opinion of the american people. ladies and gentlemen, look, every time something positive happens, when we created 5.3 million jobs, when we had exports increased 41%, 500,000 new jobs in manufacturing. when housing starts for the highest levels since july of 2008, the response to everything, literally everything is america is in decline. paul ryan -- here is what they talked about. did you ever think you hear a candidate running for president saying america has developed a culture of dependence?

ladies and gentlemen, when we rescued the automobile industry, saving 1 million jobs, creating over 200,000 new good- paying jobs, gm is back, chrysler is the fastest-growing auto maker in the nation, what is their response? it is outrageous, their response. in the last hours of this campaign, they have become truly desperate. i came from ohio -- they are running an ad in ohio and the following -- this is the god's truth. the ad they are running says the following -- it says that barack obama bankrupting the automobile industry so that it could be sold to the italians -- i do not know they have against the italians -- sold to the italians so they could offshore to china.

that is what they are saying -- i am not making this up. ladies and gentlemen, here is the cynical part. just imagine, your from the upper midwest, my state is delaware, which was one of the biggest automobile producing states in the country. after all those guys and families have been through, hard-working folks working their whole lives, through no fault of their own because of the policies of the last administration in the last year before got elected, 400,000 automobile jobs lost. here is what is more important -- 400,000 people dropping out of the middle-class. 400,000, and all the folks associated with them seeing their dream shattered. my dad, when we had to move from scranton, pennsylvania, he left a year ahead of us to find a job in wilmington's of the brim us all down.

my dad's refrain the rest of our lives, my sister valerie is with me -- [applause] my dad, my dad said the following -- he said joey, remember, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. it is about the dignity. it is about respect. it is about your place in the community. all these people in the upper midwest to were decimated, decimated, and finally, finally, through the efforts of the president and a lot of people and the congress, brought back the automobile industry, they are back at work, able to care for their families, they have a sense of security. guess where these guys are running those ads? they are running those very ads in toledo, in those very places where these people just got back on their feet trying to scare the living devil out of them.

ladies and gentlemen, the fact of the matter is, the ads were so outrageous that politifact -- i know they do not think that fact checkers matter, but they called it wholly inaccurate. the "cleveland plain dealer" said it is a masterpiece in misdirection. the response in the auto companies -- i have been doing this a long time, i do not remember a major corporate entity inserting themselves directly in the middle of a presidential campaign. chrysler said -- they called the ad "a leap that would be difficult even for a professional circus acrobat." [laughter] that is the quote. i do not think they are acrobats -- i think these guys are contortionists. gm says a "they are operating

from a parallel universe" they called it. here is the thing they got -- they call the "campaign politics at its cynical worst." that is not for another political party -- that is not for me candidate. that is not a newspaper or a blog. it is from a spokesperson for general motors. ladies and gentlemen, and after i made this assertion, earlier today in sarasota, they rushed congressman ryan out there. seriously. congressman ryan came out and put out a statement or held a press conference. he said, the fact artifacts. by the way, the ultimate irony of this, the ultimate irony of this is, whenever the president talked about romnesia. it is contagious. congressman ryan has caught it. let me tell you the facts. congressman ryan voted with us.

he voted in the congress with us. before he saw romney. he said, these are the facts. he is asserting the ad factually true. let me tell you the facts. the facts are, congressman, 1 million people are worker would not have been. 200,000 new jobs. governor romney wrote an editorial called "let detroit go bankrupt." the fact is that romney will say anything, anything to win. the "cleveland plain dealer" put it -- it does not matter how much confusion he must sow to do it. ladies and gentlemen, the role of the president is not to sow confusion, but to sow confidence. that is the role of a president. [applause] you finally heard me say before

-- i will say it again. presidential elections are about one thing first and foremost, character. character. character. the character of the candidate. ladies and gentlemen, on that score it is clear that our guy has character. [applause] our guy says what he means. he means what he says. it never depends on who he is talking to. he stands by what he says. that cannot be said about governor romney. [applause] that is a harsh fact. ask yourself, all those who are listening to this, ask yourself, who do you trust? who do you trust to tell you what they mean? who do you trust to stand by you? who do you trust to stand up for the middle class?

who you trust to put american interest before their own? barack obama is the man you should trust. [chanting "four more years"] ladies and gentlemen, america is not in decline. america is on the ascendancy. the 21st century will be the american century, like the 20th was. the entire journey of the history of this country has always been in one direction -- forward. that is the only direction. ladies and gentlemen, i will close by saying i have news for governor romney and congressman ryan -- it has never been a good bet to bet against the american people. ever.

[applause] ladies and gentlemen, with you, we can win. we win florida, we win this election. stand with us. god bless you all, and may god protect our troops. thank you. ♪

♪ >> please welcome obama for america field organizer, nathaniel lee. [applause]

>> wasn't that great, everybody? let's give the vice president one more round of applause. [applause] you have all heard what is at stake here. you heard it from the vice president himself. what we need is to go vote today. there is no time to wait. we have buses waiting right at your as you exit. if you are a marion day voter, get on the bus and we will take you to the election center and will vote today and win florida and put them back into the white house. thank you. [applause] ♪

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>> i have watched shows when they are interviewing politicians and they're talking about what they do in congress, the legislation, their opinions. >> i recently watched the debates. i was still that worked and i knew it was on c-span. >> it usually draws down into the issues and is not antagonistic and hall style. it does not seem to have an ax to grind or an agenda to push like cable tv shows. >> i agree. it seems like to get the real story. there is not a commentary.

>> i go there to get the news and the facts and more details than just headlines are talking points. i want to learn something, not just be entertained. >> it is not as exciting as cnn or fox, but you get the real story. i like it. >> darrell and mary lynch watch c-span on a comcast. by america's cable companies in 1979 and provided as a public service. at a campaign event today, rob portman and senate candidate joshed mandel courage schroders to vote early for the romney- ryan ticket. this is part of the bus tour that began october 2. it is half an hour.

>> good evening. we are very glad to have senator portman and the next u.s. senator from ohio with us. [applause] i am congressman mike turner. yesterday, we were with mitt romney in dayton, ohio, doing a disaster relief effort for the victims of hurricane sandy. it was great to see the energy and excitement that mitt romney in this state brought. he was with paul ryan as he started on saturday and went down -- i think the momentum is with us. people are excited. people are excited about what a president mitt romney means.

we will and these trillion dollar deficit. [applause] we will and these trillion dollar deficits, strengthen national security, get our economy moving to get -- create jobs. a race the image people have of the united states around the world -- no more of an apology tou. r we will get an -- a president we all know who has the no. 1 job of moving this economy forward. i am standing for elections in the 10th congressional district. i hope to have your support. i have been serving congress the past 10 years and have been fighting the same fight that mitt romney wants to fight, to stop the out of control spending. i voted against raising the debt limit. i voted against the president's stimulus bill and obamacare. i voted against his energy killing cap and trade, and i hope to have your vote so i can continue to have a voice in

congress to stop this out of control spending. another person that we -- [applause] a gentleman we are all very proud of in ohio is rob portman. he stands for conservative principles and has fought to make sure we rain in this out of control spending and has fought for our military, our men and women in uniform. we have appreciated his service in congress and the night states senate. we are proud to have an today. [applause] >> how are you? good. it is all about them, isn't it? >> the future of our country right there. this looks like from the romney-ryan country. this is how i look at it. six more days to avoid four more years.

you agree with me? i will go along with that. we need him now. it is the fourth quarter. the score is tied. we're in the red zone. the momentum is our way and you can see from this crowd. are we going to take mitt over the goal line? of course we are. we will leave from on the field. those of you who were at football practice in your younger days. remember that? you have to leave it on the field. these next six days will determine who the next leader of the free world is. the state of ohio could determine who the next president is going to be. everything you're going to do can make a difference in terms

of determining the direction of our country. that is a pretty heavy responsibility. it is a great opportunity as ohioans. we have the chance to make a difference for our kids and grandkids, for our communities and our country. as i am talking to people around the state i keep hearing the same thing. you're not happy with the status quo and we have to make sure we have some change. is your job to be sure that they get out there and vote and a boat for mitt romney and paul ryan. [applause] if everybody finds five people

in the washington court house or wherever it -- you live to make sure they support mitt romney, we can make a difference. you might want to consider that. it frees you up on election day to get those five people to the polls we will try to bring a lot of folks with us to be sure that we're banking those folks. we're free to do everything we can to ensure we have the victory on november 6. when barack obama ran for president he said we will cut the deficit in half. the deficit is now $1 trillion this year. he has added 50% to our debt to the point that it has gone to $16 trillion. does that sound like it is working to you? and when he pushed to the health care bill through, he

said, if you pass this legislation, we will reduce health-care costs. the reduction will be about $2,500. it actually has increased costs by about $2,500. does this sound like it is working? we are in the right place. and then the stimulus package, when he said i want a trillion dollars of your money, he took our money plus the bar a bunch from china. trillionet's put a dollars and see what happens. he says today unemployment would be 15% lower than it is. that is 9 million jobs short. does this sound like it's working? it is not. what is even more discouraging is looking at what he wants to do over the next four years.

it is more of the same. there are some exceptions. he has protected and our jobs and ensure we have the military second to none to keep the peace. i get to work with him.

host: for the past week and continuing this week, we have been looking at the 9 swing states and hold the keys to the election. today we put a spotlight on the state of new hampshire. the small state in the northeast corner holding four leapt laurel votes. right now its unemployment rate for september, 5.7%. president obama won the state by a large margin in 2008 with 9%. neil levesque is the executive director of the new hampshire institute of politics, joining us this morning from manchester. let's begin with top issues for new hampshire voters. guest: good morning from new hampshire. before i start, i want to thank c-span and congratulate c-span

radio on 15 great years being on the air. it has been a very valuable resource for some of us in civics. a great resource. in new hampshire, we are a swing states. four electoral votes. it sounds like a small number, with 538, but if al gore had won those of for your votes, he would become president. so they are very important. this state is a tossup. the issues are little different in new hampshire than across the country. unlike a state like nevada and has a higher unemployment rate, and mentors at 5.7%, which is a little higher than it has been all summer, this means jobs and the economy is an issue that is certainly front and center ended is the number-one issue, but it may not bring home as much as other issues -- ring home. host: what are the swing

areas of that states that have historically provided the winner with the electoral votes? guest: by now we are seeing that the candidates are coming into -- particularly the president's campaign has been coming into the sea coast, rockingham county area, cities like rochester are certainly areas that are indicative of what may happen in this election. but the other location candidates are coming into is the city of nashua, the second- largest city in the state. we are seeing the president was there a few days ago last saturday. it seems to be a place that is being fought over. it's along the massachusetts border. massachusetts is the stated that governor romney led. so it is a very interesting area. many of the people from nashua work in massachusetts. host: who are the voters in this area? guest: new hampshire has

traditionally libertarian streak. our motto is live free or die. it is a tossup location. the voters, i think they are voting for the person they think is going to lead this country the next four years. some people will say new hampshire has a summer home of governor romney and the state next door, massachusetts, where he was governor. i think that is less of a factor. i think the people of new hampshire can see beyond that and are voting for the person they think is best for the 50 states. host: tell us about the history of new hampshire being a swing state. guest: traditionally, new hampshire was very solidly republican for many years. recently, i think it is sort of the clinton 1992 phenomenon that has changed that. he one the state twice. in 2000 it went to george w. bush. kerrey., john care

the president got a nine point victory in 2008. we really are tossups state. the polls go back and forth. it is difficult to determine who is going to win this state right now. host: is there early voting and how do the hampshire residents vote on election day? guest: there's not early voting, but there's absentee ballot. you have to sign a form saying you are not going to be available on voting day to come to the polls. traditionally, the polls are open from about 7:00 until 7:00. some locations are open until 8:00 p.m. on election day. we have one of the highest voter turnouts in the country. other statistical interesting facts are that we are one of the least taxed states in the

nation. the least. we have no income tax, no sales tax. the democratic and republican candidates will pledge on that issue, saying they will not have an income tax or sales tax. our two gubernatorial candidates right now are both running on that issue. host: neil levesque, about the recount laws in the state of new hampshire. is it possible that there could be a recount in this state and what are the rules for that? guest: we have specific rules for the state. we have a fine secretary of state, bill gardner, quite experienced in this. he's the person who has been the keeper of the flame for the new hampshire primary. we had a famous account here in the late '70's with senator john

durken who recently passed away. frankly, i don't see it coming down to that. we will see what happens on tuesday. i think other states may be more likely to have a recount and new hampshire. host: do you have voter id laws? guest: yes, and there's some controversy. the legislature passed a voter -- a new voter law that required people to swear that if there were going to vote in a certain town that they would pay their taxes and their registration fees for their cars in that town, etc. this was appealed and the state supreme court has put that on hold. right now some of our voters are slightly confused about those issues going into tuesday. host: neil levesque executive director at saint anselm college in new hampshire at the institute of politics. if you would like to join the

conversation -- also, send us a tweet or post your comment on facebook or send us an e-mail. then, remember, we also have a special phone line set aside for new hampshire residents. we want to tear from you as well during this next hour-and-a-half conversation that we will have focusing on the battleground state of new hampshire. neil levesque, let's also talk about election night. what will you be watching for? guest: i will be looking at the cities of nashua and areas along the border with massachusetts and i will look at a town such as our tester, as i mentioned. one interesting a thing about election night is governor romney has announced that he will be here the day before the

election. historically, and the president did that as well. not to say that he's been elected president, but another candidate for president did. that was john f. kennedy. he came to new hampshire before coming down to cape cod to wait for returns, which as we all know did not come through that very evening in 1960. host: how is governor romney dealing with the good economy in new hampshire, 5.7% unemployment? guest: it is a little tricky, if your main message nationwide is the economy and new hampshire's economy, their unemployment rate is so low. it is lightly tricky. one issue that the democrats have been using both for the presidential election and in our gubernatorial races is the issue of abortion. that has been something that has been highly significant in the advertising that china seen on

new hampshire television. one thing that's interesting, being in a swing state, if you are watching nationwide and you're not in a swing states, is if you turn on the tv or radio, is all advertising. if you are local automobile dealer trying to sell your cars, you really have a hard time getting your ads in. it's nonstop. so you see a positive ad for the president and then a - 1. and then the same for governor romney. -- a positive ad for the president and then a negative ad, and then the same for governor romney. it can get confusing. i'm sure voters are confused to some degree at. this at host: when you look at party registration in new hampshire, republican, 32%, democrats, 28%. and declared voters in new hampshire, that they make up 40%

of registered voters. how are candidates appealing to that 40%? guest: that is what you are looking at if you are candidates, those undeclared voters. there are 300 $10,000 them in new hampshire. many political scientists believe that they may claim to be declared at the local ballot but when they go to vote, that they traditionally lean one way or another. -- there are 3000,000 of them in new hampshire, and declared voters. in new hampshire behalf two congressmen. we have the first and second congressional district. a second district liens democrat. right now is held by congressman , a republican. that district is something i will be watching as well.

as i mentioned, nashua, which is in that district, is a city where the candidates have been pouring into and surrogates, so it is a district we will be watching on election night. host: lakota bryant in new hampshire, independents. you are sought after by the two candidates. -- let's go to bryan. caller: i'm leaning toward obama now. when i hear him speak, he connects better with me. when i listened to obama speak, more of my questions are answered. when i listen to romney speak, i tend to have more questions and i get confused as i listened to him and it's hard for me to pinpoint where he is on the issues. but my question is, i am a

relatively new residents to new hampshire, but my question is whether you studied new president eight years compared with people who have been here for generations and if you seen any significant differences between the two? guest: that's a great question, because one of the fallacies in new hampshire is that people move from the state of massachusetts, which is much more government-centered than new hampshire, and they're moving across the border and then voting democratic. the fact is that's not true. the towns along the border with a lot of new residents, a lot of transplants from massachusetts, are really the solid republican counts these days. years ago, in the 1960's, for example, the cities where

democratic. allou were a candidate, you have to do is win the talent. the towns along a the vermont border are very strong democratic towns and very strong democratic areas now. so it has almost been a complete reversal. the old yankee farmer, if you will, might have switched party registration in the last 20 years. host: here is judith on twitter -- guest: governor sununu is a very knowledgeable former governor of new hampshire and he was white house tebow staff for george h. w. bush. he certainly knows national politics. it-- he was white house chief of staff for george herbert walker

bush. a very smart man and a very well-respected. certainly anyone in politics that has gone on television a lot and is commenting sometimes may or may not say something they regret. i think the vice president actually said that. so i am not going to judge each one of his remarks. host: is it having an impact on the new hampshire voter? guest: he is very well respected here in new hampshire. i think that maybe one of the reasons he has been so out front for the republican party, because he is someone people here in new hampshire would tend to listen dupont. likewise, senator -- is very popular here and are outgoing governor, john lynch as well. the president's campaign used him in an advertisement because he is so popular and he has been on the stage with the president.

they are definitely using surrogates like that. the president's campaign is very smart to use some of these people like senator sheheen, who is more of a centrist democrat, favorable among independents. if you are a new hampshire voters and watching television, you might give refuconfused by l but ads and then you see what your popular politicians speaking on their behalf, you might be likely to sway your vote in that direction. i think that the two u.s. senators and their endorsements of the two opposition candidates have been very important here in new hampshire. host: who won in 2008 and why, and how's it looking good six days to go? guest: president obama won by

nine points in 2008. senator mccain had spent a lot of time here, not only in his primary campaign in 2008 but previous to that in 2000, i think he had over 100 town hall meetings in new hampshire during that time. so he has been to a lot of different places. i'm sure it was a disappointment for him. he continued to come to new hampshire on behalf of governor romney. -- continues. i think new hampshire is a tossup, it's anyone's guess at this point. it's what makes politics exciting. certainly not the candidates are placing a lot of emphasis here. as i mentioned, romney is coming in. and president clinton at the end of the week is coming here for the president. i don't have any research necessarily on this, but i would say president clinton and hillary clinton are very

popular in new hampshire and particularly amongst activists. he continues to be a very popular figure here. host: president obama has a slight edge over governor romney in real clear politics in that state. and you can see the specific recent polls that have been taken, giving obama an edge in some of them and romney in others. now to akron, ohio, independent. caller: i will say this, i have already voted and i am independent, truly. i found it disgusting that mitt romney would stay in ohio to collect canned goods. if he truly believes we should be reliant on private enterprise when there's a

disaster, why would he not take $5 million out of its own pocket and by the canned goods and continue on his way? instead he sends norm: to ohio to talk about what mitt romney says on abortion, which is not true. at the same time he is changing his game and changing every view. the president is doing his job. he is not claiming to do anything but his job. host: the front page of the boston globe shows the impact of the storm, millions reeling. and then this headline in the hartford current -- guest: the storm affected new

hampshire as well, our fourth largest car outage here in new hampshire. we dog to the choleraller, have the opportunity to be around these candidates at the entrance to the politics, particularly around the primaries. the matter what party, you will find candidates are very patriotic people, they really want to do the best they can for our country, and they're wonderful, not only with what they do in public but with their families. it is something voters really don't get to see and this is sad, because these people are really tremendous. they worked very hard. as we know, more than half of everyone who puts their name on the ballot loses. it takes great courage to say i think i can do this and i'm going to try. these candidates but their names on the ballots. they run very hard. the candidates for president

right now, such as governor romney, he's been running for years now. probably three years nonstop. and the president is certainly tireless as well. so it's one thing that we get to see here a close. i wish more voters had an opportunity to see these candidates and see what they are like. host: john in new hampshire, independent. caller: how are you? host: good morning. caller: a quick point and a question. one of -- i look at massachusetts, when romney was a governor, i lived in massachusetts, when he was governor in 2006 and what have you. overall, mr. romney, governor romney at the time, he left the

state with debt. you hear how we set up a slush fund and all these great things he did for the state, which are totally untrue. i have to say, i have lived in new hampshire and a town over from where his vacation home is. the campaign itself, where he is changing positions it, from the time he was governor of massachusetts from what he is saying today, he has totally changed his whole direction. he was pro-life when he was the governor in massachusetts and now he is -- or he was not pro- life back then, and now he's pro-life. guest: certainly, candidates, as they go through time, can.

change can i think someone might say the president, you could hold out certain examples of the president's record. changes positions. certainly between next tuesday and inauguration day, no matter who wins, you might see some curbing of some of these positions that were taken during the campaign. it's just a guess. but some of these things will change over time it. candidates will take a step back sometimes from their harder position that they took in a campaign. it is the nature of politics. host: green bay, wisconsin, ed, a democrat. caller: good morning. i'm a graduate of the american school. i have a question on polling in general. it seems to me that the 90% + of the at african-american vote will go to obama and 80% of the

women's vote will go for obama, and the other vote, even if you are nice about it and give romney 50% of the vote, how can he be so close to the polls? guest: well, each poll is different. referencing real clear politics, a web site that pretty good as far as trying to bring polls together, there's a question as to how accurate it is these days with one third of households not having a home phone anymore. but you charitable trust did a study recently that indicated 9% of people that they're reaching out to are actually responding. -- the pew charitable trust. in antrim, whether it's from the campaigns or the different

parties, if you stayed home tonight, you would get on average five to 10 phone calls. it gets to the point where you shut off the ringer and don't even turn on your answering machine, because you could be on the phone all night with pollsters. lsters after this election will look at what went wrong and what went right, after this. it is science and they are very talented people. a lot of times they are very accurate. i will say that, it you are for one candidate or another, there is your own emotions that play into this sometimes, if so you will see a poll that maybe is not favorable to you and your party and sometimes your emotions can play into it. for the most part, particularly with these averages, they are generally accurate. host: we did a segment yesterday

about understanding polls during the campaign season. if your interested, go to c- span.org and we have the pew research director talked about how and why polls are done. now to thomas in little home, texas, republican -- in little elm. caller: i want to know, for everyone out there, i know people that go to college, whether their parents paid for it or day paige ford themselves, they're very proud they went to college. i cannot figure out why obama, and his wife, have hidden their records and sealed them. guest: well, i don't want to comment directly on that, necessarily, but i will say that we all went to college and we all have our records.

i'm not sure if i were a candidate for president that i would want all that out there and what i wrote in an essay 25 years ago. however, his record now, he has been president four years and his record is there. i would encourage the voters to look at his record and see if it is favorable to you and make your decision up next tuesday as you go to the polls. host: let me end with this. new hampshire has momentum and the tension in the primary. in the general, it is not that important, just a few electoral votes. guest: well, it is a few electoral votes, and it was not important the president and mitt romney would not be here at least once a week, in surrogate's at least every single day. again, it all gore had won the

state, he would have become president of the united states. -- if al gore had won the state, he would have become president of the united states. we're looking at each county. they are figuring out where these people need to go. that is why it is very strategic. when you hear the presently and in new hampshire and land in the last -- nashua, he is there for a strategic regiason. there's a lot of science and pulling in very strategic. again, we have had a lot of candidates here for the primary. we have had a lot of exposure to them. certainly voters here are knowledgeable about who these people are after going through a primary, and the different debates that go on. "washington journal" continues.

host: four looked rowboats but force base in new hampshire. the history of being a swing stat continues this year. it is on our list of the nine swing states. our competition continues about the battleground states of new hampshire. kathy sullivan is the chairwoman of the democratic party she tried to us from manchester this morning. if i could begin repairwith the "washington post" peiece.

guest: that is not true. the democrats and president obama have been on the ground since the primary ended in february. the classic story was he drove through manchester and was locked, shut and the sides were down. the obama campaign was up and running. in knocking on doors, making phone calls. engaged in voter contacts for months and months before the obama campaign came back to new hampshire. i would say the republicans are talking of a good ground game, but the reality is the obama ground game is much better, and that will be a crucial factor when oma wins here next tuesday. host: given that obama won the state in 2008 by nine percentage

points, and the economy is not that bad in new hampshire compared to other states, why is the race so close for the president? guest: new hampshire is typically a swing state. go back and look at the races in 2000 and 2004, they were very close. 2008 the president did win going away. mitt romney is someone who was governor of massachusetts. he has been keenly -- campaigning here really for six years because he ran in 2008 and lost. did not take too much time before you started appearing here again. what is really surprising is he is not been able to close the deal witthe picture voters, and they're still backing president obama. if you look at the polls, on average, the president is winning. he has maintained a small but steady lead. i think this year you will see a number similar to what we had

in 2004 and not so much in 2008. that was a different year. a lot of people were so upset with george bush. the president will pull out and win next tuesday. i think the numbers will be closer to what they were in 2004. host: what is your handicap for the governor's race and the two contested congressional races in the state? guest: in the governor's race, the democratic canada has maintained a small but said to lead in the polls. she has been out there campaigning and really doing a good job getting the message out. the republican, a very well- known figure in the state. this is the fourth time hes run for major office. he has not been successful in the past, despite the fact that he had much greater name recognition. he just has not been able to

catch her in the polls. the polls go back and forth on each of those. it is a rematch of the congressional races we saw two years ago. the incumbent was night for democrats overall and we will pick up both congressional states. both are very close right now. host: with the economy. well, the candidates have turned to other issues. i want to show an ad that the iran the campaign is airing in the state of new hampshire. >> it is stronger now than when i came to america. >> our navy is smaller now that any time the 1917. that is unacceptable to me.

this is the highest responsibility of the presence of united states, and i will not cut the military budget by a trillion dollars, a combination of the budget cut the president has. that is making our future less certain and less secure. host: what is your reaction? guest: i am surprised irani is still talking about the navy after the president made about forces and bayonets. people know and understand president obama is devoted to the security of this country, that he made the call to send in the seals to take out osama bin laden it was such a threat to our country. has made a real wa priority of eliminating the leadership of al qaeda. he has extricated as out of a choice -- for a choice in iraq

that cause the problems in the real economy here at home and allies around the world. president obama has done a great job on national security and foreign affairs. mitt romney, you saw him in the debate on the topic of foreign policy. most of his ideas he was a neat, too, with respect to the president. -- me, too. host: lets' hear from our republican voters in new hampshire. -- let's. caller: it is amazing that are all on the puck for president obama. you want watch a balanced news station, go to fox news. that is the truth, it really is. president george bush would have been crucified if this went down in libya. for american soldiers, people

that were killed. th were just sitting around. same situation. mitt romney does have a plan. he is a businessman. obama has never been run a lemonade stand let's be honest. guest: with respect to benghazi the president is insisting on getting to the bottom. he has also said we will find those responsible and nature -- make sure they are held responsible. that is what we expect from are responsible president. with respect to the other comments, obviously with respect to fox news, i do not watch fox news, so i cannot really comment on fox other than to say it might be a good idea if our fries from kingston tried watching some other shows once in awhile to see what other folks are saying and not ly

upon one source of news. when you rely only on one news source, it can be somewhat biased. i think the president is doing a good job, and i am really looking forward to another four years of president obama. host: st. charles, missouri. dale is a democrat a calller. caller: i was born and raised a republican. after voting for presidential elections for the past 30 years as a democrat makes me a democrat. the question i have, that i would like you to address is the single-issue voters that the republicans catered to, we see numerous examples of people from texas in particular that have a belief system that is not based on facts. i am curious why the democratic party has not addressed the

single issue voters. i keep asking people. what did you get for the gun issues from george bush, ronald reagan, there administrations of the congress? th cannot tell me. ditto abortion issues. ditto gay rights. there does not appear to be any better relations -- legislation that the federal level but i am aware of or that they are aware of. uhost: we will leave it there and go to victoria, a republican. caller: my thoughts are real quick, we have the right to bear arms number-one. number two, my vote lies solely on obama care. i am 56. i am getting ready to retire.

i do not want to pay for birth control. the ladies who make money can go down to planned parenthood and pay $20 for it. why should i pay for their birth control? it is against my faith. i have the freedom of religion and plan to exercise that by voting for romney. host: kathy sullivan. guest: in the first place, no one is proposing that taxpayers pay for someone's birth control. the issue is whether or not the employer has the right to discriminate against certain types of prescriptions, specifically birth control. this is a law we have had in new hampshire for several years now that employers have to cover prescription contraceptive. it has worked quite well. it has nothing to do with the

tax payer. it is the expense of the employer, not the taxpayer. with respect to the health-care issue, i have to tell you something, i am the managing partner of a law firm. we have about 50 people who work there. up until couple of years ago, our health and --ealth insurance premiums went up by double-digit numbers. for years. last year our health care premiums will ve gone up by only 3% total for two years, which is unheard of several years ago. we kept looking at the double- digit percentage increases. i am very happy with what the president has done with respect to health care. i think it is starting to have the impact of driving down insurance premiums. we're also seeing we have more people with pre-existing conditions who will have

insurance coverage. whereas under mitt romney plan someone with pre-existing conditions loses insurance temporarily in goes back will not be insured. children be able to stay on their parents' health care plan until the age of 26 so that kids comi out of college may not have a job will be able to still have health insurance. these are important factors and important issues for people in this country. i really am happy with what the president has done with health care reform. i think that is why the president is proud it is called obama care. caller: you are a very beautiful lady, and lete tell you something, we fight each other over all these issues, but we ll have to face what is coming to all of us. you are totally right under your assessment of iran. -- assessment of mitt romney.

cspan, one more thing, the engagement between democrats and republicans, i think that is very healthy for the united states. also, the affdable health care act is a beautiful ll. i am so happy they are willing to take care of people with pre- existing conditions it will not be able to cheat us. one thing for certain, white oak, black folk, hispanic votes, we have to go find each other now. -- white folk, black folk, hispanic folk. we need these people fighting for justice for the american people. i live in south central l.a.. i have to watch some of the most serious atrocities every day. to have good folks here.

you have people not willing to given to the beast of racism. as long as we continue to fight each other, we will have these problems. but our people in new york and new jersey. i think the governor of new jersey had a beautiful statement. no, i do not believe it is used totally, but what he said the other day i am so impressed with him. -- believe in h views totally, but what he said the other day i am so impressed with him. guest: i think the fact the with the governor said yesterday with respect and to the natural disaster is great. there is too much need-jk partisan reaction. it is great to see someone come forward and praised the president for his leadership with respect to the aftermath of

huicane sandy. we had some of that impact here in new hampshire. we still have tens of thousands of folks without power. we did not get hit as badly as people in new york and new jersey, connecticut, selfish or massachusetts. a little luckier than those, but hopefully everyone will go -- will get the help they need of the recovery will go smoothly. host: president obama will to work the state of -- tour the state of new jersey today. caller: you have to understa why president obama can delay the benghazi problem until after the election. he was very proud to show the situation room when he got a hold of bin laden, but now he does notant any faxed to come out about this one until after

election. host: why do you think he is delaying it when the house is controlled by republicans? caller: because he is. you tell me he is not? host: i do not know. i was wondeng what evidence you have of that. caller: any news pgram, he will go on better of it, the view, but will not go on any programs that will ask him the hard questions. host: we go to neal, a republican calller from pennsylvania. caller: their number one. cnn forget it. chris matthews plays the race

card every tying democrats are losing. then it is the other guy. benghazi should be number-one. four americans killed. where is obama? he would not want any programs and answer anything. host: let me get your thoughts on this. guest: the president has been in a couple of debates since what happened there. the subject did come up here yet i think it is not correct to say that he has not ne anywhere where the sject has been able to be discussed. we did have nationally- televised debates. the president has been very clear, and that is we need to get to the bottom of what happened, and we will find those responsible and hold them responsible. given the president's record

with respect to the leadership of al qaeda and bin laden, i think we can expect him to do exactly what he promised to do, and that is fine the responsible -- find those responsible and held them responsible. did you want to picture it is done correctly and with the correct information. that is what the president is doing, and i think that is the right way to conduct a national security. host: show the viewers the breakdown earlier. unregistered voters mix of 40%. what is internal polling showing about how many of those voters president obama could capture? >> i do not want to talk about internal polling, but let me say this, based on what i am seeing, i am very confident the president will have a good night here in new -- here on tuesday. we are working hard to make sure we have every obama supporter

out there and out there to vote so we do have a victory. i think it will be closer, closer to the 2004 election when senator kerrey won. i do think president obama will pull it off, because he has such an excellent ground game, and because of these big city issu that are born to the people of new hampshire. we talk about real depth is a reduction, the spefics of his plan, unlike mitt romney to has yet to answer how he will pay for his plan. the people understand you want someone willing to talk about specifics, someone who has a record of cutting taxes for working-class and middle-class people. someone who has a record for cutting taxes for small businesses. the president has signed 18 tax cuts into law for small business people. i think the people of n hampshire, when they look at the president's record and compare that to mitt romney's record,

they will say president obama has shown steady leadership when he came into office, turned things around and is continuing to make things better. when you look at his record compared to mitt romney's rhetoric, then i think the independent voters will vote for president obama and help give us a victory next week. host: kathy sullivan is the democratic committeewoman. shares serves as the new hampshire democratic chairwoman from 1999-2007. when is the difference between them? guest: as democratic party chair i was the person who basically was elected to be in charge of the democratic party for the state of new hampshire. as national committeewoman i am not as active in the day to day activities, but instead represent the state party at the national level with the national

committee under the great leadership under the congresswoman deborah what torrential. host-- deborah watzermanschulz. caller: in new hampshire of the property taxes are very high compared to massachusetts for example. i know this is for the property owners and a constitutional amendment proposal to put this on the ballot banning any future imposition of state income tax or federal income tax -- sales tax by 80 in the governor of the legislature. i think it is a very bad idea. i think they should have ever won pay an income tax, rather than most of the property tax by

the property owners like me. host: kathy sullivan, go ahead. guest: in new hampshire this year we have three questions on the ballot. one is the constitutional amendment to ban a statewide income tax. i personally am opposed to a statewide income tax. i think it hampshire has done very well without an income tax. we have done well through a recession without an income tax. however, i am opposed to a constitutional amendment. i do not think vers today should tie the hands of future generations. they should have their own ability to make their own decisions for how to pay for the services that government provid. our forefathers did not hide our own hands with respect to telling us how we had to pay for services, so i do not think we should do that. there are other questions on the ballot. one is to give the legislature

bidault authority and the right to impose rules on the courts of ohio -- on the courts of new hampshire so the legislature can impose their own rules on our courts. i am opposed to that. recent legislature, which is controlled right now by the ve radical and extreme republicans. one of the first actions they took was tollow guns into the state house, something we had not allowed in the past. i am concerned it would give the legislature the rules for the court, we may end up in the same situation in the courthouse. i am against that question as well. the third question would be to have a new hampshire constitutionalonvention, 400 people. i am opposed to that. i think it would be a costly and unnecessary endeavor. we do have another process to oppose amendments. i am encouraging everyone in new

hampshire to vote no on all three questions on the ballot this year. host: we are talking about the battleground state of new hampshire. we wanted to update you on president obama campaign plans. he will resume -- resume campaigning with stops in about it, wisconsin on thursday. this is from "the associated press." tom democratic cller. last calller for kathy sullivan. caller: i would just like to know that romney reaches a lot about national-security. being hispanic, there's a lot of working-class people. i would like to know, has anyone in his family ever been in the military service? i mean, here he is talking national security. we send our sons to foreign wars and all these things happen

with people's kids, but what about h kids? anyone in his familever been to war? host: i am not sure you know the answer to that question, but why are military issues of the deal in new hamhire? guest: i think military issues are a big issue everywhere, but we do have been able shipyard, and we also have their force base and national guard. i think like every state in the country, we also have some defense contractors as well. security is always a big issue. for example, my parents were both world war ii vetrans. you find a lot of terans in new hampshire. the important thing is to look at the record in comparison to record. president obama has a great record on national security and taking down the leadership of al qaeda, our enemies.

people came into our country and killed 2000 of our citizens. at the same time, look at mitt romney in what he is proposing is trillions of dollars in defense spending that the military is not even asking for. he is looking at the old way of conducting military affairs. he is still talking about the ways the navy operated in 1917, as opposed to the security threats that face us today in the country in 2012, and what is the most effectiv way of protecting our people and our country in 2012. look at the rhetoric, as opposed to the record. if you look of the record, you will support president obama. host: kathy

i think that is something you need to deal with. >> i am concerned that my opponent does not seem to understand arizona geography.

we are talking about mining in the arizona strip, not the grand canyon. i am trying to protect the bipartisan agreement called the arizona wilderness act that was negotiated by barry goldwater on one side, the sierra club on one side, the chamber of commerce on the other, that protected the grand canyon and also recognize we would need economic activity in the arizona strip. that is what i am trying to protect. >> i do understand the geography. apparently, there is a difference of opinion. we are talking about aquifer. the watershed area that extends far beyond the canyon. it will contaminate aquifer that brings water down. i was very careful to say, this is grand canyon watershed risk. 25 million people rely on it and the watershed to provide water

for the area as well as california and other areas. >> we are going to get a quick look at a lot of topics now. the next question. >> yuma county has the highest unemployment in the nation month after month with 25% or 30% of its work force looking for jobs. what ideas do you have for improving the economy and creating jobs, in particular for rural areas? would this be a top priority for you? >> it is a top priority for me. first and foremost, we have to do something about reforming the tax structure. small businesses are taxed at 35%. that is not sustainable in this environment today.

we have to change the loopholes at the top. big companies like ge and others pay no taxes and small companies pay up to 35%. we need to make it fair to everybody. first and foremost, we have to create an environment that our small businesses can thrive. when we look at the uniqueness on the border that is different and the tax reform or the nation, we need immigration reform. as i travel the border and i meet with agricultural people, we have a work force problem because the immigration system and the visa system is broken. these problems trade an impediment to congress. we have to be able to provide a work force but can move back and forth easily. we are not able to do that because of the impediments that are there by not having an effective comprehensive immigration policy. that becomes an economic issue as well. the workers here who want to work, there is not enough of them.

the workers who come across the border to take care of the ranches and agricultural industry, they can i get back and forth like they want to. the ranchers are telling us every day, we desperately need immigration solved because it is and economic problem. thank you. >> you pose a great question here. unemployment around the country is at an unacceptable level of around 8%. it has remained so for about 43 months until a row with this administration and the democratically controlled senate. in yuma, it is 25% or 30%. we have to have certainty on tax rates moving ahead. it is the certainty of regulation that is really stifling. we have a federal agencies whether environmental, health care regulation, labor regulation, financial regulation, it is all consuming.

then one of the biggest job killers out there is the health care plan. i just spoke to a small business this morning from yuma. he has 44 employees. he is planning on hiring four more and that is all. do you know why? if he gets to 50 employees, then he starts getting fined for not providing health care insurance that the president and others think he ought to provide. that means fewer jobs. he said, i will simply pay overtime and make them work saturdays. i cannot hit 50. you have seen the same thing happening with small businesses and franchisees. they are moving people from full-time to part-time because they do not want to hit the threshold. that is a huge job killer. we have to repeal it. that is a commitment i will make you. when i get to the senate, i will vote to repeal the health care plan. my opponent will not.

>> first and foremost, i think you can see the partisanship by which congressman flake comes to the issue. it is always blaming the other side. that is the problem we have with congress. congress is not working because it is full of people that cannot have a rational discussion. we are spending 18% of our gdp on health care. when i look at the health care plan before us, i have been critical of it as well. the congressman's plan is to rescind it and we still have 50 million people without insurance. we will have more people coming into the market. it will be transferred to all of you. he will pick up the cost for people who do not have insurance. that is not a plan. the public will be shouldering the burden and the doctors and hospitals will pick up more uncompensated care. >> we have to repeal the president's health care plan. the president promised when this was past that it would lower premiums by $2,500 per family.

it has raised premiums by about $2,500 per family. what is in the future, not just for those who pay premiums but also the taxpayers at the state level, the problems our state has had with the budget will be multiplied. we cannot go in that direction. we desperately need health care reform. we cannot go the direction of the president's health care plan. >> should you be elected, would you be willing to put the weight of your office behind finding out what the causes are and the solutions to the high unemployment in here in yuma county? >> i want to finish the issue of health care because it plays into unemployment as well. congressman flake's plan is not really a plan. whether it is a voucher, we the people are still going to

shoulder the burden. hospitals and doctors will get more uncompensated care. both parties have gotten it wrong. they're not addressing the cost of care. the cost of care comes from 75 cents of every dollar spent on chronic diseases, most of which are preventable. >> some question to you, would you be willing to put the weight of your office behind finding the causes and solutions to unemployment here in yuma county? the word traditional has been applied. it is not a compliment. >> some of the issues has to deal with the issue raised here with regard to being near the border. being susceptible to national trends when it comes to unemployment and the economy. we need some things desperately here like a commuter plan that will make it easier for labor to come across in the daytime and back at night.

that is not allowed easily in our system. one thing we have to avoid is a sequestration that is looming at the end of the year. that will hurt our military readiness. for an area like yuma that relies on the defense industry, it would be devastating. we have to make sure we look at that issue. with the health care plan, that means fewer jobs, not more. that is what we have to look at. the uncertainty on taxes and the certainty of regulation. >> let's move on to our next question that comes from michelle. >> access to healthcare in rural arizona can be difficult. many problems include a lack of health care providers, state and federal funding cuts, access,

and the loss of facilities when patients cannot pay, there is further financial loss to the institution. our local hospital lost $40 million this year alone from unpaid treatments that contributed to the layoffs of 135 employees. do you have a plan to help improve the health services available to patients in rural arizona? >> i grew up in snowflake. i know the issues. i know the difficulty my parents had at times to find doctors willing to treat them on medicare. that is going to become exacerbated as we go forward with the president's health care plan as well. let me take another issue you mentioned. you really feel the uncompensated care here on the border. i know the issues that are faced with federal rules where you are required to treat anybody that comes, that means unless the federal government

reimburses, the hospital has to do it and the taxpayers here. that is not fair. that is why we in the congress have worked hard to make sure hospital funding, reimbursements are there. it is something yuma cannot control. the burden is a federal responsibility. we need a plan to deal with that, but it has to start with the federal government doing what it has to do if they impose mandates. the mandates need to be funded. with the federal health-care plan, it will exacerbate the problem we have access to doctors in rural areas. >> the congressman said he has come down to the border and visited a hospital. i have worked here for over one quarter of a century.

i have been a police officer on the border working with the border patrol. i have been a registered nurse. my whole life has been about caring for others. these are issues i do not have to visit, i have lived them every single day of my life right up to the cabinet level in dealing with this. i know the issues along the border and how difficult they are. this is not about getting more doctors, we have to revamp the health-care system. the congressman is stuck on a sound bite from his party that you have to rescind the affordable health care act. governor romney himself said, there is some good stuff in here. kids covered to 26, that is good. if your kids are like mine, you want them covered to 26. we look at our seniors and the doughnut hole. even governor romney said we

should retain these. the aca has good things in it, but it needs a better business plan. we have to recognize it is not all about doctors. this is a multidisciplinary team that needs to be put into the community to deal with doctors, nurses. we have to reform the system to one that promotes optical care. simply doing what the congressman wants to rescind aca, we will incur a whole lot of debt and more problems because people will continue to get sick. >> i have worked with him. i am proud to have his support. if i was not down here working the issues, i would not have his support. with regard to the hospitals again and patient care and access to doctors, whether we like it or not, the president's health care plan is an

impediment to better access. >> the congressman thinks by rescinding the plan this will correct the problem. both parties have gotten it wrong. they are not addressing the issues that are germane to the rising costs of health care. is killing small businesses and making it difficult for people to get insurance. we need a new system. we need to address the variables that contribute to the cost of health care. rescinding this does not do it. the congressman mentions he has endorsements. i am a police officer half of my life. most of the police associations as well as the national association of police organizations which i was chosen as a national top cop, they have endorsed me as well.

that is not what we are talking about. we're talking about solving problems. >> the amount of money the state spends on each student in arizona is around $1,300. that is the second lowest. nearly half of all students who attend rural schools live in poverty. funding for schools is tied to property-tax is which means schools in rural areas will continually get less money. how do you plan to legislate the education budget to ensure students in low income areas are funded more fairly? >> i am a product of a community college. i could not get into college because i was a high-school dropout coming back from combat.

somebody had the wisdom to say, let's give these kids an opportunity. i had a gi bill to give me some money so i could get educated. i know the value of community colleges. i know what they bring to the community. we have to restructure how we invest at enter our communities. we have so many problems with unemployment, small business is struggling. we need an economic base that can allow the schools to thrive. comprehensive tax reform is the way we have to start. we have to create incentives within the communities of people that are innovators want to come here. this is a beautiful state. when people want to hire people that generates the higher tax base, they ask, how about your school system? it is not doing so well. how about the health care system? how about the arts, theatre, extracurricular? we need to build an infrastructure of opportunity that makes this the most attractive place in the nation to stay.

we could be the solar capital of the world. right now we need coal. coal is 30% of where the energy is coming from. we can actually do a lot of things. all of the solar panels we have out here. this is where we are going in the long run. >> thank you. k-12 education is a function of state government and the federal government, ungratefully. the federal government provides a% of the funding that goes into local schools. with that 8% comes 70% of the mandates and stipulations and paperwork that tied the hands of local schools, teachers, administrators.

with regards to what the federal government should do, your question is very relevant with low risk pools. rural schools are having the problem, what is the future like the navajo station or the coronado power plant which the epa is trying to shut down. if you want to affect local schools, and allow the epa to move ahead and impose restrictions that will force the power plants to shut down. it is devastation in a local community. we have seen that happen in my home town of snowflake. we have a paper mill that shutdown that would still be up and running and helping us manage the forest, but it cannot anymore because the epa has taken us out completely. that devastates the community. we have to make sure economic development can come. there is a large impediment

right now with some of the federal agencies. arizona is 85% publicly owned. >> congressman flake and i agree on some things. i do not agree as he does that we should abolish the department of education, nor that we should abolish the epa. who does not want clean water and air? congress regulates those agencies. he has been there a in office for a dozen years. the only have the authorities bestowed on them by congress. arizona is different. we cannot regulate dust, this is arizona. it is congress that has the ability to hold them accountable. >> you are right, that is congress's role. for the past three and a half years, we have been unable to exercise that role. the senate under harry reid's control has not passed a budget. we do not go through regular order passing appropriations bills one by one.

when you do go through regular order, it allows me to work with democrats to actually ran the agencies. when the senate will not pass a budget, we cannot do that here we lose our power. that is why the senate needs to change leadership. >> the next question for congressman flake. >> both of you have touched on the subject of my next question, but i would like to go into it in more depth. in yuma county, farmers have advocated for a worker guest program that would allow people who live in mexico to cross the border each morning to work in yuma's fields and return home at night. is fixing the guest worker program something you support, and what features to you consider critical?

>> we do need to revamp it. we need a better h2a program, but let's stick to agricultural programs now. do not have a program robust enough to take care of the needs we have now. otherwise, we will be shipping jobs to mexico or elsewhere. here and in the imperial valley in california, they are saying we do not have the work force, and i believe them. here in yuma, the h2a program is ill suited because a lot of people living in mexico can come and work and then return home. the program requires housing and transportation be required by the employer. that does not make sense. we need a computer program that allows people to come here and

move back. that is why the farm bureau has not supported the ag worker bill that is a pretty good fix for the h2a but does not address the commuter program. my commitment is to work on the issues in a way that will give access to labor that we need to keep the jobs here in america and not ship them elsewhere. >> again, congressman flake and i agree a lot of the policies and procedures are antiquated. this question lends itself to one of my earlier answers. we need comprehensive immigration reform. the border needs to be secure, there is no question about it. we cannot let it be an impediment to progress since so many jobs require it. we are in agreement on those issues. again, the congressman has been there one dozen years.

whether it is the epa and blaming the democrats on the other side because they did not regulate appropriately and only the republicans will have the right answer does not make sense. the system is broken. both sides are getting it wrong because each side digs their heels in and we do not get anything done. whether immigration reform, or specifics of a visa moving across the border, we have to start solving problems. that is why people are fed up. ratingswhy congress's are as low as they have ever been. people want the problems solved. that is not happening. >> outlining the problem is correct, but i can tell you my record in congress has been one to reach across the aisle. i have worked on a comprehensive immigration

reform. i have worked with senator kennedy. we try to get comprehensive reform through. unfortunately, we cannot give the trust level until we have a secure border. on other issues as well, i have been able to pass more floor amendments than any of my democrat or republican colleagues over the past four years because i work with the other side. that is what we need a center of the senate. >> the congressman talks about his bipartisanship. the fact is, that is not true. he votes with his party more than michele bachman does. his words were, congressman flake abandon me on immigration. when it was convenient to was with me, when he wanted to be a senator, he left. i think it is disingenuous. to be a congressman, you have to show up at work. if you look at 12 years of his attendance in committees and subcommittees, it got 1300 that are listed, he has missed 800 of

them. if any of us had missed two- thirds of our work, we would be fired. >> my opponent has brought this up before and it is simply not true. it is completely not true in terms of the attendance record, i think he is trying to cover for something that we pointed out. dr. carmona did not vote in the 2010 elections in the general or the primary. if you are going to ask for people's votes, it helps to have a voted in the last election. that is not true. i can tell you, i do work across the aisle. when the president proposed immigration reform, he will not propose a temporary or guest worker plan. it is not comprehensive anymore for the president. >> the next question is for dr. carmona. >> the border between arizona and mexico is host to six ports of entry.

officers are charged with preventing the movement of prohibit commercial products, pets, illegal migrants, drugs, weapons, and potential threats to national security. all of these things they must do without slowing legitimate traffic, including more than $20 billion of imports and exports each year. that is in arizona alone. what can the government do to help small border communities plan and execute improvements to the infrastructure leading to and improving ports of entry? what will if any does the government have in expediting on the mexican side of the border? >> i think clearly we have to and partnership with our counterparts in mexico have that discussion so we can actually be able to integrate our resources. when i was surgeon general, i spent a lot of time working internationally on our international preparedness plan. it really is about striking a balance between both. the border becomes an issue

because of national security, but is also a thoroughfare to commerce that you point out. if we look at the blue and green uniforms, we have to find a balance. this is a portal for commerce as well as keeping ourselves healthy and safe and secure. as we look at the amount of people coming across, which is the net decrease in this state, including the vitriolic expressions of some people who had alienated people who do not want to come here anymore, we need more help on the border. we need to use technology more so we can move trucks and people back and forth. it is a federal opportunity. the border is a federal responsibility. we cannot go along the in this piecemeal, and a fashion with a broken immigration program and not have comprehensive reform. comprehensive reform is about economics, making the border more secure, it is about

facilitating the goods and people on a regular basis so they can work here and go home. we all profit from that. the federal government has an important role. >> we have gratefully better infrastructure over the past couple of years. we are having trouble getting appropriate staffing for the ports. that has been stressful for those of us and congress. we have not been able to get a staffing model to tell us how much money we need to authorize and appropriate for the sports. in the last go around, i passed an amendment in the house to dock the secretary's office a token amount to come up with a staffing model because we have been begging them to tell us what we need to appropriate to

appropriately staffed the ports. it is about $7 million that comes to our state from people crossing from mexico in spending money just a in retail shops. the produce industry is about a $20 billion industry that comes mostly through nogales. it is important for the state that we do not just have enough and green uniforms, but the blue uniforms to make sure the ports are adequately staffed. >> congressman flake and i are in agreement on staffing. i feel that we have to enhance our use of higher technology so we can increase the movement back and forth. i want to go back to comprehensive immigration reform. part of the burden we have on

the side is the apprehension and incarceration of people who did not get deported. without comprehensive immigration reform, we're still going to have an economic burden. we will have impeachment's going back and forth across the border. this is about stopping the problem that has been perpetuated by congress failing to act. >> we have to make sure we get these appropriately staffed. comprehensive immigration reform is desperately needed. first, we have to ensure the tucson sector looks more like the yuma sector. there has been wonderful cooperation with local law enforcement and the federal government in making this border here, the 88 miles of this sector secure. we have to do the same in tucson. and we can move on to all of the

thorny issues that are needed there including guest worker plans and making sure we have access to labor. >> i appreciate you both sticking to the clock closely. we only have three questions to go. >> proposition 120 calls to change the constitution and declares state sovereignty. if proposition 120 does pass and federal and state courts upheld the constitutionality, what do you plan to do to ensure the state is reaping the financial benefits of acquiring the land without compromising the environment? >> i have not studied this carefully or this proposal, but i am skeptical about the outlook. other states have talked about doing this kind of thing to having more influence over the federal lands. i think it is require more than a proposition at the state level. we need better corporation

between the state and the federal government to manage the federal lands that we have. right now we have wonderful national parks and intrastate, but we have a backlog in terms of maintenance. we have the largest ponderosa stand in the world, but not if we keep having these fires. we have to make sure we have a rational policy with regard to mining interests as well. we do not have that now. we do not have the federal government allowing us to do a simple land transfer to allow resolution copper to expand and to create more than 3000 jobs. these kinds of things need cooperation between the federal government and the state. we have not had that. >> we are talking proposition 120, but it does have implications for the management of public lands. but let's not forget, we are the united states of america. it is silly to talk about

partially seceding from the union. that does not make any sense to drop out because you disagree with somebody. our strength is the agglomeration of 50 states. we're not going to regulate dust, obviously. the things the congressman brought up is important. we need cooperation, but that is the problem we have of congress today. there is no cooperation. all we do is bicker and fight and point fingers at each other. it is is about time that the public speaks up. again, i will go back to the fact that 90% of the public is disheartened by how they have been represented. we have to start solving these problems. the challenge is really to get congress to cooperate and stop the bickering on both sides. >> thank you.

part of reining in federal agencies and working with the federal government cooperatively has to start with the senate passing a budget. i cannot over emphasize the importance of that. most people look at the fiscal aspects. those are important. the real effect is without a senate budget, the house and senate do not go through regular order and we are not able to work -- we are able to cooperate across the aisle. when we pass amendments, we know that the senate will not pick them up because they have not passed a budget and will just do one bill at the end of the year with everything thrown in. that has to stop. >> i will go back to what i said. congress is the inherent problem here. the congressman went the other side as if all good solutions

only come from one party. both sides got it wrong whether in health-care or anything else. the congressman chooses to blame the other side. there is much more we can do cooperatively. the congressman has taken positions that are ideologically driven and attached himself to congressman aiken. he has been a proponent of redefining rape as legitimate rate. these are things we need to be talking about. health care for women, our veterans, and our seniors. >> i think the congressman should get a chance to respond to that. >> i am willing to work with the other side and i challenge my own party when needed. when we had the earmark problem for years, i went to the house floor and challenged my own party more than anybody because my own party was in charge. they were not doing the right thing. i was removed from one of my committees for punishment for what they called bad behavior. that was standing up to my own party on these issues.

i do work with the other side. the other side has to be willing to pass a budget. that is the problem. we in the house are passing budgets and the senate is not. >> the farm bill sets conservation and forest tree policy. the last farm bill expired in september. while food stamps, commodity support will continue to receive funding, there is no support for the lower profile programs that drive innovation, create jobs, and support the next generation of farmers critical to rural areas such as yuma county. if elected, would you consider a new farm bill a priority? what changes to the legislation would elected advocate? >> when i am elected, it will most likely be a priority for me.

i realize how antiquated the farm bill is. i recognize how it is a broken congress. they forget we have a big agricultural community here that desperately needs to support to be able to do its job. having the supports in place, having an updated farm bill that addresses the issue but also a farm bill that addresses health. the farm bill is tied to health as well. sometimes, we are the ones contributing to the problem because of a policy. we have to look at that very critically and ssay, how do we ensure there is an infrastructure of opportunity here for the agricultural community? how do we ensure trade and trade balances are dealt with? [no audio] >> we need to redo the farm bill and with that will give certainty ahead.

it needs to be changed and revamped considerably. for a community like this that farms mostly fresh vegetables, you get very little from the farm bill. let me tell you how out of whack it is right now, when the last farm bill was authorized, some said the we are subsidizing cotton is wrong. we cannot do that. the brazilians will sue us. they will win. they can impose tariffs and everything else. guess what? they did. now, instead of changing the way we subsidized cotton farmers, we are paying $150 million a year to brazil to subsidize there, and so we will not have to change the way we provide subsidies here. that is wrong.

that is out of whack. so is a program of direct subsidies and direct payment where we give farmers money whether they grow crops or not. that is out of whack, and a great filly that seems to be changing. i am proud to have worked for years to try to get rid of the ethanol subsidies that we have. $6 billion of a tax credit for something that is not working and is actually a detriment to the environment as well. that has gone now, and that is a good thing. >> as i said in my remarks and the congressman expanded, i think we are in agreement that much is to be done with reforming the farm bill and ensuring it is contemporary and thought and nature and how it supports the farmers in our area. the challenge is, we have a broken congress. why was this not done? we have been kicking the can down the road for years.

each party blames the other person. this is not that difficult to deal with. we know the issues, we know the issues about tariffs and subsidies, we have to have reasonable people sit down and solve the problems. that is the politics killing us now. party politics is not letting us of the problems. >> congress is certainly dysfunctional. the figures say not only 90 -- 90% said congress is not only during a good job, i would like to meet the 10% who think congress is doing a good job. i have a thing to tell them. a senate that has not passed a budget in 1200 days is dysfunctional. it has to change.

it is not enough to say that we need to work together. we do, but you have to have specifics. you have to have knowledge of how the programs work in order to sit down with the other side and actually come to a rational agreement. >> we have reached the final question. it will be directed to congressman flake. >> we have covered several issues that are relevant to rural areas in arizona. if you are elected to the senate, which of the issues would you be able to tell rural arizonans that you championed for them if he were to run for reelection in 2013? >> first, i mentioned our problem with forest health. we have worked over the past several years on the initiative. this allows us to have industry in the forest on a commercial basis that helps us then the forest where needed that will save the forests from environmental disaster when another fire comes. we just let out the first contract. a group called pioneer will move deeper into the forest, not just to run the communities. that is something that is desperately needed that we have done.

if the epa is successful, if the obama administration is successful at shutting down the navajo generating station, that will be devastating for the state. that is something we are fighting. the epa said the other day they are not just looking at njf, they are looking at coronado and apache as well. i had a letter and had every member sign it to tell the epa to slow down. let's have some public comment and some more hearings. we are working on those issues, and we have to continue to. you have to be able to work with the other side on the issues. >> would you repeat the question?

>> several issues are relevant to rural arizonans. if you are to win the election, which would you say that you have championed for them if you run for reelection? >> first and foremost, jobs and the economy. we are desperate here. we have a 30% unemployment rate. there is a lot can do that we have mentioned already. create an environment that is conducive to attracting business here. it includes tax reform. closing the loopholes of the top. helping small businesses and keeping taxes low for arizona families. it also includes the immigration reform. this is an economic issue as well. well below that the border as an economic issue as well and national security, we have to enhance, we improve security.

we have to be able to inspire small and large businesses to come here because it is a wonderful place to live. we have to create an environment through tax credits and give people opportunities to come here. there are plenty of people who would put capital at risk if they felt this was a secure environment, if they felt the schools were better than they are. it is about moving a family here. i think that is most important to arizona.

we get our fiscal house in order. we have jobs for everybody. we change the climate we have. you cannot do that without comprehensive tax reform and comprehensive changes along the border that includes securing the border and being much more innovative with visas, permits, pathways to citizenship, and the dreamers. >> with regard to jobs and the economy, what we need is a change from the current course that this administration and this senate has put us on. it is a course that has higher taxes, more regulation. assuming we can redistribute the same pie we have rather than growing the pie. we need a change, particularly in the rural arizona. we are disproportionately affected when the federal government over regulates, in particular with public lands. we have to have somebody willing to go back to washington and advocate and stand firm on these issues. that is what i plan to do. >> the question of overregulation is one we have heard several times today, and clearly the epa in trying to regulate dust does not make sense. what we have learned is one size does not fit all. arizona has unique needs and regulatory opportunities. it goes back to congress. congress gives the authority to the epa to regulate. blaming the epa because congress failed is disingenuous to me. the epa cannot work without

authorization from the federal government. we have to put that in check so it does not impede the economy whether call or anything else let us they are trying to regulate. >> we have gone through all the questions. we have reached the closing statement. you have 90 seconds. >> thank you. i appreciate the opportunity to be here today. i will state the obvious. i am not a politician. i am not running to keep a party in power or looking for a new career. i know the collective future depends on a reasonable republicans and democrats to act as a statesman in great civility and solve our problems. we have not seen compromise for a while. i am running to restore trust in government to the american people. to ensure every kid can obtain

their american dream as i did. i want to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. i ask for your support and but so i can have the privilege to represent as the next senator from arizona. >> i was glad to talk about arizona issues here today. i am a fifth generation arizonan, raised in rural arizona. i know what communities struggle with when the federal government is overbearing. that has to change. the course that we are on right now, we need to work together desperately. the problem is, the congress cannot unless we have a senate that functions. when the senate does not pass the budget again, it is not letting the congress regulate the epa to tell them what they can and cannot regulate. we have to have a change in course. it is not enough to say you agree with your opponent, you have to have a position on the issues and advocate for them. go to washington standing for something. if you do not stand for something, you will fall for

anything that harry reid puts on your lap. that is what we have had lately in washington. a budget is not passed, both sides cannot work together. my history has been reaching across the aisle, fighting my own party when needed. making sure that we compromise when it is needed. barry goldwater once said politics is nothing more than public business. sometimes you make the best of a mixed bargain. we know that is needed. we have to have people with the temperament and ability to do so. i ask for your vote. i will value it, and i will never forget where i came from. >> that wraps up the rural issues debate from the campus here in yuma, arizona. thank you for being so respectful. that wraps it up. have a good day. >> >> indiana has made

incredible progress. we have become the fiscal envy of the country and now have the large budget surplus that we have ever had. it will make it possible for us to strengthen our budget reserves and i believe we can cut taxes. he just said that we pay for things in indiana. but when you are speaker of the house, for five of the six years that you were running the state house, indiana ran deficits. when ms. daniels came into office on budgets that you helped to write, indiana was in debt and had a deficit of millions of dollars. facts are a stubborn thing. how are we going to mature and preserve the fiscal integrity of the state of indiana? >> if you would've spent the last 12 years in indiana rather than congress you would know better but it has to be balanced. according to our constitution.

balanced and produced -- i produced a balanced and -- i find it almost laughable that the united states congressman would lecture anybody about fiscal responsibility. you voted not once, not twice but five times congressman, you voted and the results and increased our deficit by 200 billion, billion with a b dollars. >> find key house and senate races on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org. >> day the rylan first district debate. -- today the rhode island first district debate.

host: all this week, and part of last week, we have been focusing on the 9 swing states. we are highlighting them all. today we put the spotlight on colorado. it looks like it is a close race for the presidential election. you can see the state of colorado there with its four corridors. the battleground 2012 state of colorado has nine electoral votes. the unemployment rate right now is 8%. president obama won the state in 2008 by a nine percentage advantage. joining us from denver is curtis hubbard. what is the top issue for colorado voters? guest: it would not surprise you when i sit the top issue is the economy and jobs.

energy is a big issue. education is another big issue. among the latino population and especially democrats, immigration reform is a big issue. host: what is the demographic of the voters in colorado? guest: 52% women, 48% men. over the years, we have increased the number of people voting by mail. already 800,000 people have cast ballots in the state. the state is equally divided. one-third is republicans, one- third is democrats, and the other one-third are unaffiliated voters. everybody is playing for that group of unaffiliated voters. you try to figure out which way it will break. you will hear a lot of talk about appealing to women and latinos. we have heard a lot about the

bennett strategy, that refers to the strategy michael bennett used in running against the tide and enter 2010 where by appealing to women and latinos he was able to eke out a victory in a year that was not favorable to democrats. host: where are the traditionally democratic areas of the state versus the republican areas of the state? guest: denver is ground zero for democrats. boulder would be another one. they have large registration and arapahoe county. for a lot of people who follow politics, the fifth biggest county is el paso county, home to colorado springs. that is typically viewed as a republican stronghold. it is, but is also a big vote a bank for democrats. increasingly we have seen the ski areas that have started to trended democrat. the southwest corner of the state are two other ski resort communities that tented a

democrat. host: a lot of focus on early voting in this contest. does colorado have it? what is it looking like? guest: we do, we have mailed ballots and early voting. we have already had more people vote overseas this year than all of 2008. like i said, we had 800,000 ballots returned. the republicans had a 20,000 ballot advantage. nobody knows how the unaffiliated voters are breaking. about 2 million people voted early are absentee and enter the 2008 election. that is expected to grow to 2.5 million this election cycle. keep in mind colorado has 2.8 million active voters, more when you look at inactive voters. about three-quarters of the vote should be conducted in colorado, maybe a little more prior to november 6.

host: on election day, what is the voting system like? guest: we have optical scanners. we have the digital machines that are just touch screen machines. there are also hand counted paper ballots. host: could there be post- election litigation in colorado? we are hearing about that in other states. guest: there could. the clerks and the secretary of state office is prepared for that possibility. in colorado, there is a mandatory recount of the challenger finishes within half of a percent of the top vote- getter. host: we are talking with curtis hubbard of "the denver post." he was the politics editor from 2007 until 2011. he has been covering many of the races in that state. part of our battleground series.

if we could go to "the denver post" endorsement, who did you endorse and why? guest: we endorsed president obama. we felt when we look at the two candidates' positions side by side, the president was a little more realistic. we also like his more balanced approach to energy. we are in favor of obamacare. the editorial board was in favor of a public option. it did not go far enough for us. on social issues from immigration reform to women pose a health rights to birth control issues, the editorial board aligns more with the president's policies. voters are being asked by both

candidates to take a leap of faith. given what we know about the previous four years, we decided it was an easier bet to go with the president for four more. host: how many times of using president obama or governor romney or their surrogates in your state? guest: president obama has been here six times this year. mitt romney has been here 6. joe biden has been here once. we have seen a lot of, many visits from michelle obama. jill biden then work with the reds in colorado springs. we have seen plenty of action this cycle. >> bill clinton could be coming to your state. an official says bill clinton is scheduled to campaign for the president today. in colorado. the president was supposed to be in colorado springs tuesday but

cancelled due to the storm. guest: and we expect we will see, pending the outcome of the storm on the east coast, both candidates later in the week. governor mitt romney was here last week in the rally at but rocks that drew 9000 people. thousands were turned away. the following day, president obama held a rally in denver and drew crowds of up to 16,000. the governor this because deserve an amphitheater that has the capacity of 18,000. the president and his campaign were looking to go to boulder to hold a rally. they are try to turn out a lot of voters for the optics. >> most recently i watched the

debate. i wanted to see it, and distillate work. i knew it was on c-span. >> it usually drills down more important to the issues and is not antagonistic or high style and is not center of an agenda they are trying to push on some of the other cable television shows. >> i agree. it seems fair. get the real story. there's not a commentary and negative.t are >> i go there to get the facts. want to learn something not to be entertained. >> it is not as exciting or cnn or fox, but to get the real story, and i like it. >> their watch c-span on comcast. c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979. brought to you as a public service by your television provider.

>> mitt romney campaigned in jacksonville last night. the former governor jeb bush and connie mack. the key event held to other rallies. one in tampa and another and coral gables. this is 40 minutes. >> good evening. how are you? are you ready to take back the white house? i thought you might be. how did you enjoy 5 for its fighting it? he is a really good guy. did you enjoy his song, freedom never cries? i want to think you all for coming out. this is an important election. this is about what the future of america is going to be. america is going to be.